Sovereign of Silence
by Rose Asali
Summary: When a young female assassin shatters the peace of a Crystal Tokyo night, no one is safe from the aftershock...
1. Eternal, Eternal

Sovereign of Silence  
written by Julliet  
Disclaimer: Oh, must I recite this trite and worthless line? Sailor  
Moon and all related characters do not belong to me. But I did create   
some of the characters.  
The ones you've never heard of will be those.  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------  
**Chapter One--Eternal, Eternal**  
  
The young woman slipped through the hallways of the crystal  
palace. Her black boots hardly made a noise as she walked swiftly along  
the floors of the palace. Her breathing was so low it was undetectable.  
Her grip tightened around the silver sword she held in her hand.  
  
Sudden movement! The assassin slipped into the shadows of the  
hallway, pressed against the wall. Someone walked by. It was one of the  
protectors of the palace. She had long blond hair, sky blue eyes, and a  
sunny smile on her face. She began to whistle as she walked by.  
  
As soon as she had passed, the assassin slipped back off the wall  
and continued in the direction she was originally going in--opposite the  
guard. She glided down the hallway, around a corner, and finally  
reached her final destination--the royal bedroom. She slipped inside,  
smirking to herself. This was like taking candy from a baby.  
  
For a second she contemplated the royal couple. The king sighed  
in contentment, pulling his wife closer to himself. She was breathing  
heavily, cuddling down in her husband's embrace. They were a majestic  
pair, the two of them. She could almost feel the love they had for each  
other bouncing off the walls.  
  
How utterly corny.  
  
She smirked again, feeling no compassion for them, only having the  
thought that her next movement would completely sever the blissful  
connection the two had. She raised her hands, wielding her sword.  
  
She swung. The sword glinted in the moonlight.  
  
A reflection in the blade! A figure, dark as the night itself,  
the body of death. By position of the sword, standing behind her.   
Aiyana gasped, her eyes widening.  
  
Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, and she  
blacked out, falling to the floor, her sword clattering besides her.  
  
"I can't believe how close we were to death." Neo-Queen Serenity  
shook her head unsteadily, snuggling closer to her husband. The two  
were in their pajamas, standing in their room. It had recently been  
reported to them that an attempted assassination had been apprehended,   
saving their lives.  
  
"Shh, don't think about it," King Endymion said, cradling his wife  
closer to himself. It had frightened him too, the information they had  
been so mechanically given by Sailor Uranus. "Who was it?"  
  
"Who was who? The assassin? We've no idea, King Endymion. We've  
never seen her before." Sailor Mercury shook her head at the king.  
  
"Are you sure?" King Endymion asked, raising his head.  
  
"Positive. She's not familiar to any of us. Except..." Sailor  
Neptune trailed off.  
  
"Except who?" asked King Endymion.  
  
"Nothing, King Endymion. Nothing relevant."  
  
That made Endymion jumpy anyway. Nothing Sailor Neptune ever  
thought of was irrelevant. But he shook it off ignoring it, as well as  
the ominous feeling gnawing at the back of his mind.  
  
"What are we going to do with her?" asked Sailor Mars, cocking her  
eyebrow. Her shift had been over earlier, so she had quickly woken up  
and transformed. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were dark and sleepy.  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Neo-Queen Serenity.  
  
"She's got to have some sort of punishment, for attempted  
assassination. Do you want us to put her in prison overnight to await  
her--"  
  
King Endymion shook his head hard, but to no avail.  
  
"--execution?"  
  
King Endymion slapped his head.  
  
"Execution?!" the warm-hearted queen squeaked. "I thought you  
said she was a teenager!"  
  
"Yes, my queen, but--" Sailor Jupiter struggled to get the words  
out. "She tried to kill you!"  
  
"Yes, Jupiter, but if she's only sixteen or seventeen, she's got  
her whole life ahead of her!" Neo-Queen Serenity shook her head. "I  
couldn't bear to take her life at this young age. Someone at sixteen or  
seventeen wouldn't try to kill us that efficiently for no reason."   
Serenity was getting into her serious, stubborn mode now. "I don't  
believe that any teenager would just, out of their own heads, come up to  
kill me or Mamo-chan, unless they really were messed up or were under  
orders from someone else. Maybe there's a conspiracy."  
  
"True, my queen--"  
  
Neo-Queen Serenity held up her hand, cutting Sailor Uranus off.   
She wriggled away from King Endymion, raising herself up to her full  
height--which was not an inch over five foot one. "Maybe we could learn  
something from her."  
  
"It'd be quite difficult to sustain her in a prison after all,"  
said Sailor Mercury, shaking her head slightly. After she was  
apprehended, she blacked out into a coma."  
  
"So I request that she be put in a hospital, under close guard."  
  
The six Senshi looked at each other.  
  
"Yes, my queen," they answered meekly.  
  
King Endymion wasn't sure his wife's choice was a wise one, or the  
right one. But he was too tired to think of any problems with it.   
"Please," he said, "after this is done, please go back to bed."  
  
Aiyana opened her eyes.  
  
She hadn't slept in six months. She was so infuriated and  
embarrassed now, that she doubted she'd be able to sleep ever again.   
Yet she had been dozing in this bed for--how long?  
  
She had no idea how long it'd been since she'd attempted--and  
failed--to carry out her mission, and now she began mulling over her  
failure. How had she collapsed by such a small pain? She'd endured  
much worse before! What happened to the battles with two broken fingers  
and a broken leg, and she'd crawled out victorious? How had she fallen  
so easily, by just one small little pain in the back of her head?  
  
She turned over, her cheeks flaming in vexation. How  
embarrassing. The First Delta in the Omega Army, on the brink of being  
the first female Beta, and she'd utterly embarrassed herself, blacking  
out in the middle of a mission. She was sure this would be a first in  
the Omega Star Empire. She imagined going before the Alpha Council to  
explain. 'Sa, Alpha-sama, I failed because I collapsed of a  
headache...'  
  
If she ever made it back to Alpha Proximi or Alpha Centauri. At  
the rate she was going, it didn't seem like it. It seemed as if the  
Earthians had imprisoned her somewhere. She assessed her surroundings.   
White twin bed, white sheets, white walls. She wasn't in a prison;  
there were no laser-beam bars and she didn't see a movement tracker,  
although there was a small surveillance camera in the corner.  
  
She rolled over and looked on her dresser. There, as plain as  
day, was her sword, most likely laid on the night table and left by a  
careless employee.  
  
Aiyana nearly smiled. Closing her hands around the hilt of the  
sword, she sprung from her bed and crept to the door of the room.  
  
Aiyana had freed herself from her room and was now walking down  
the hallway, free as a bird, not able to decide whether she should go to  
the main computer room or walk out of the palace. She hadn't yet  
finished her mission--she hadn't killed the queen--but she didn't want  
to risk getting caught. After they discovered she was no longer in her  
room, they would surely come after her.  
  
However, the main computer room would also be of utmost need to  
her. She could look into the inner workings of the computer, realize  
how much the people of Earth--however primitive and behind the times  
they might have been--knew about her mission, and the mission of the  
Alphas. Then she could delete the information and crash the computer  
systems capable of detecting them. Inherently she tried to figure out  
what would be the best way to go to get to the computer room. She  
doubted the Terrans knew about mainframe-stealth maskers.  
  
Suddenly she felt her arm wrench in pain, twisted around behind  
her back. She was whipped close to a body. Judging from the sinewy  
strength of it, as well as the superior height, she guessed it was a  
male.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
Aiyana narrowed her eyes. Instead of answering, she moved  
quickly, sending her elbow into his groin. As soon as he gave the  
slightest flinch of pain, she was off, running as fast as she could away  
from the guard.  
  
Kunzite cursed, his gray eyes following the train of the young  
girl running across the palace. She was very fast, but she ran a little  
unsteadily, as if her legs were too thin to carry her body. In moments  
she was out of sight.  
  
"If I were a psychotic assassin, where would I go?" he asked  
himself, shaking his head. Suddenly it clicked, and he dialed up his  
communicator.  
  
"Zoisite? She's headed for the main computer room. Head her  
off."  
  
Aiyana had known better than to use brute strength and force  
against that larger, stronger man. Instead, she had used her superior speed,  
being much smaller. She was off and running.  
  
She skidded to a short stop when she felt a whirring sound under  
her feet. Cupping her ear, she heard it also. The mainframe was  
here--right in the center of the palace.  
  
She slowed her pace and confidently walked into the mainframe,  
staring around. The computers everywhere were made of the same smooth,  
pristine white crystal, gleaming and sparkling. She smiled very  
faintly, complacent, and walked towards the one with the biggest screen.  
  
She had just cracked the password to three access screens and was  
onto the last, high-security access screen when she heard the word.   
"Yameru!"  
  
She turned her head for a moment. A woman, curiously  
flat-chested, was encroaching upon her at the computer. Nonchalantly,  
she turned back to what she was doing.  
  
Zoisite smirked. Obviously the girl hadn't seen him. Now he  
could cautiously creep upon her. He drew his sword and rushed towards  
her.  
  
It actually seemed as if Zoisite's sword would make contact with  
her head, but at the last minute, lightning quick, the assassin whipped  
a silver-bladed sword from the scabbard and slashed at Zoisite, knocking  
him backwards.  
  
He cursed. "How the hell did she manage to get that far in the  
computer screens?"  
  
She smiled at his comment, but still said nothing.  
  
Zoisite sprang back to his feet. He'd be the first to admit that  
he wasn't very skilled on the sword, certainly not as much as Kunzite,  
the best out of the four of them. However, he'd had training in combat,  
and he rushed at the girl again, this time executing a sharp kick while  
driving his sword low.  
  
Impossibly, the girl thrusted one hand upwards while the other  
hand--wielding the sword--went downwards. She deflected his sword and  
took hold of his foot, flipping him down and around, onto his back.  
  
Zoisite landed hard. He shook his head to clear it, and felt a  
cold metal blade at his neck. Opening his eyes, he found himself  
staring into two of the most intense eyes he had ever seen in his life.   
They were clear azure, uncanny--although one of the coolest colors in  
the rainbow, the flames within them burned with a fire that could be  
unmatched by even the hottest of conflagrations. They were slanted in a  
catlike fashion, making her rather attractive.  
  
Sliding his eyes down her body, he realized that was not all that  
made her attractive. She had a tall, nicely built, softly curvaceous  
shape, coupled with paled skin that only enhanced the quality of her  
long violet hair--pulled back into a braid--and her bright blue eyes. A  
derisive smirk curved across her slightly rosy lips, making her the  
embodiment of a horrendously irresistable siren.  
  
Zoisite felt the pressure of the sword into his neck and began to  
utter a few ending words, when suddenly there was the clatter of metal  
against metal. The girl's sword scratched his neck painfully but  
relatively harmlessly, and she staggered backwards. Lightning quick, a  
silver flash flew towards her, aiming to outdo her in swordwork.  
  
Zoisite actually stood back and watched the fight for a few  
moments. It was a beautiful example of enemies at each other's throats.   
Kunzite and the young female assassin worked almost in a dance sequence,  
each ineffectually trying to slay the other with the sword, each only  
doing minimal damage to the other. He sensed their frustration growing,  
as their slashes became less practiced and more savage, until they were  
just a blur of silver and black--a sovereign of light and a seductress  
of darkness.  
  
It suddenly occurred to Zoisite that perhaps he should call for  
help, and instantly initiated a communication line between himself and  
some guards, including the other two kings. Within minutes--and a good  
thing, because Kunzite was looking rather worn-out--they arrived.  
  
"Yameru, Kunzite!" Nephrite rushed fowards. By pure instinct  
Kunzite dropped his sword upon seeing his ally, and Aiyana took the  
advantage to jump forward, embedding her sword in his stomach.  
  
"Chikuso!" he screeched, backing away.  
  
Zoisite knew that the other two kings in commission were too  
chivalrous to do what needed to be done a girl, so he took the liberty  
of doing it himself. He kicked the girl, once in the stomach, and when  
she recoiled, he hit her--hard--with Kunzite's dropped sword.  
  
She wobbled a bit, obviously off-balance. "Shimatta," she  
whispered softly.  
  
_She's not quite as stable as I thought,_ Zoisite thought,  
staring at her.  
  
Nephrite, looking dubiously at Zoisite, grabbed the girl; Jadeite  
secured her, and two other guards latched on to make sure she wouldn't  
be a problem. Zoisite gently took Kunzite and another guard assisted  
him.  
  
"We'll take you to my wife's hospital to have you looked over."  
  
"What about her?" Jadeite pointed at the girl. Her eyes  
refocused on Zoisite, hatred burning within them.  
  
"Take her to the prisoner's infirmary, up on the top floor of the  
hospital. Make sure you lock her up tight this time." Zoisite stared  
thoughtfully at the assassin again, contemplating the deep fire in her  
eyes. She was staring defiantly at him; even in defeat she was fierce,  
daunting, filled with power and energy. Zoisite smirked as he wondered  
at her endurance.  
  
"Tranquilize her."  
  
Koikokoro Masaya walked down the hall, whistling to himself. He  
caught himself in time. _I'm starting to sound like Okaa_, he thought to  
himself with a smile.  
  
He walked down to the hospital room way at the end of the hallway.   
Room 318. He looked down at his clipboard. PATIENT'S STATUS UNKNOWN,  
it said. _One of those street victims._ He cracked the  
door, to check on the patient first.  
  
She was sleeping.  
  
Masaya entered, suddenly interested. He walked over to the  
bedside, staring at the young woman. She was younger than him, perhaps  
seventeen years old, and she was a very lovely young girl. She had  
pale, creamy, unblemished skin faintly tinted olive and long dark violet  
hair flowing long over the bedclothes. She looked peaceful as she  
slept. Masaya smiled slightly at the young assassin's appearance. A  
devil in an angel's robes.  
  
He turned to the side for a minute, away from the girl, to the  
table by her. There was a sword lying there, a beautiful sword with a  
black hilt and a silver blade. Masaya picked it up in fascination.   
That was one thing he shared with his father, one thing they agreed  
on--both were enamored by the study of sabers and fencing. Masaya  
himself was a champion fencer, taking after both his parents. And  
this--this was an excellent sword.  
  
He replaced the sword, returning his gaze to the other object of  
his fascination. This angel of Tartarus--  
  
--was gone.  
  
Masaya recoiled in surprise when he realized that the  
violet-haired assassin was no longer lying in the bed, framed by the  
white sheets.  
  
The next minute he felt his arm being twisted around him in  
excruciating pain, being pulled violently off of the nightstand he was  
sitting on, and feeling a cold silver blade being whipped to his neck.  
  
"What are you doing in here?" asked a warm, luminous, and utterly  
frightening voice.  
  
"Uh--" Masaya struggled to get away, but it was useless. His  
assailant had a firm grip on him. He turned what little bit he could,  
and realized it was the young female assassin. She was staring down at  
him with icy blue eyes. She wasn't angry. In fact, she looked amused.  
  
"I'm the doctor--Koikokoro--Masaya--" he struggled to say.  
  
"You could have knocked," she said. "How do you know I wasn't  
dressing?"  
  
"Ano--" He didn't think she really wanted an answer to that  
question.  
  
"You all think I'm crazy," she said. "So, I think I will live up  
to my description. In a crazy rage of insanity, I think I'll kill you."  
  
Masaya's eyes widened. He searched desperately for some coherent  
thought to allay her actions, but all he could think to say was: "Ano--"  
  
He felt the blade tighten against his neck, bringing with it pain,  
and he knew she had severed his flesh. _She's going to kill me,_  
he thought. _She's really going to kill me, and then I'll be dead, and  
then--I won't be alive anymore!_  
  
Suddenly he felt himself dropping to the floor, gasping for  
breath. There was cruel laughter above him.  
  
He picked himself off the floor, dazed, and shook his head to  
clear it. He brought his finger up to his neck. It came back bloody.  
  
"Do not worry, Dr. Koikokoro-sensei; it will heal and then your  
neck will be all pretty again. Although there will be a nasty scar  
there." The derisive laughter rang out again, melodious and scourging  
at the same time. Masaya blinked. Seated on the bed was the young  
assassin.  
  
He now got a chance to study her properly. She looked tall, even  
sitting down. Her body hinted at a woman's form. No, that wasn't  
right--it didn't hint, it announced. Declared. Her eyes were ice blue  
and her hair was dark violet, almost black, sharply contrasting with her  
pale olive skin. All of it was clothed in a long-sleeved, form-fitting,  
pale blue hospital nightgown. She was extremely pretty, beautiful even,  
and would have had a benevolent, angelic look to her had her eyes not  
been so ardent and evilly narrowed and her mouth not been curled into a  
malicious smile.  
  
Instead of being incensed at her, as he should have been, he was  
actually intrugued by her beauty--as well as her fluid motion. "How did  
you do that?" he asked.  
  
She seemed surprised. "You are--"  
  
"Not angry? Not really. I've never seen anyone move like that,"  
he said. "I mean, I've never felt anyone move like that, because I  
didn't even see you. One minute you're lying in the bed, and the  
next--you had me by the neck and immobilized. No one has ever done that  
before."  
  
"Plenty of people. There are many better than me," she said,  
seeming very surprised. Not only at Masaya's misjudgment of her  
abilities, but also at the fact that she was even answering him. She  
hadn't talked to anyone since landing on this godforsaken planet.  
  
"No. I meant no one has ever done that to me before. I'm one of  
the best fencers in Crystal Tokyo." He sat down on the bed, very close  
to her.  
  
She slid away, reddening a little. "Ano...really?" she asked,  
seeming to have lost her composure for a while. His eyes were boring  
into hers.  
  
He laughed. "What are you afraid of? After a move like that, I'd  
think you were fearless."  
  
"Only a fool fears nothing," she scoffed, looking away. "Fear  
stops one from doing things they may later regret."  
  
"Yes. But sometimes, fear makes you do things you may later  
regret." Masaya turned and picked up the clipboard; then turned around  
and looked straight at Aiyana with his serious gray-blue eyes. "Now,  
like I said, I'm Dr. Koikokoro Masaya. You can call me Masaya, I guess.   
What is your name?"  
  
Aiyana cocked her head, reddening a little again. "Aiyana  
Khalidah," she answered accidentally, in her fluster.  
  
"Eye-ah-nah ka-lie-dah," he spoke, writing it down. "Does it mean  
anything in your language?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Your name. Most names have meanings. What does yours mean?"  
  
"Eternal, eternal."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
Aiyana sighed. "Both of my names mean eternal," she said.   
"Eternal, eternal. They are that way for...how do you say? Effect.   
Emphasis."  
  
Masaya merely stared at the young woman, until she began to squirm  
uncomfortably. "How old are you, Aiyana?"  
  
"I am in my eighteenth year," she answered truthfully, although  
she had no idea why. Something about Masaya's loose but respectful and  
fascinated manner made her want to tell the truth. Although she could  
never be comfortable on this planet, she figured--since she was locked  
up in this room--that it couldn't be too bad to tell a little,  
especially to the handsome young doctor before her now. Admittedly  
Aiyana was tired of keeping secrets.  
  
"You're what?" asked Masaya, and he laughed. "You mean you're  
seventeen. I used to do that when I was younger. Slow down, you'll  
grow up soon enough!"  
  
"But I am in my eighteenth year," Aiyana protested. "My birthday  
is Jolene twenty-second--about equivalent to the fourteenth of January.   
And I was born in the year five thousand sixty-two, which is about the  
same as the year twenty-eight eighty-three here. Twenty-eight  
eighty-three until now is seventeen years, but I completed my  
seventeenth year two weeks ago, so I am in my eighteenth."  
  
Masaya laughed again. "But it's only February second!"  
  
Aiyana didn't say anything at first, just stared. "Where I am  
from, we say that we are in our eighteenth year."  
  
"Where are you from, Aiyana?"  
  
Aiyana thought. "I cannot tell you that."  
  
Masaya's head went up. "Why?"  
  
"Because. I cannot." She said it calmly, but her eyes flashed a  
dangerous violet.  
  
Masaya was taken aback, but undaunted. "Okay," he said. "So,  
your name is Aiyana Khalidah and you're seventeen years old. What else  
do I need to know about you?"  
  
Aiyana stared at him.  
  
Masaya raised an eyebrow. "Nothing, I guess. Unless you have any  
medical conditions I should know about."  
  
Aiyana stared at him.  
  
"I'll take that as a no," he said, rolling his eyes and setting  
down his clipboard. "I guess that's it. Are you hungry?"  
  
"No," said Aiyana. "I have no need for food or drink."  
  
"What?" Masaya raised his eyebrow again. Aiyana felt the red  
color creeping back up to her cheeks.  
  
"I do not need to eat," she explained. "It is part of an extensive  
program that our scientists created. They injected me with elixir, and  
I lost the need for nourishment."  
  
"Now this sounds like some kind of medical information," said  
Masaya, grabbing his clipboard. "I'll go get some food--for myself--and  
then you can tell me about that. Hold that thought!" He dashed out of  
the room.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Those Japanese words that you might not know...  
Eto-let's see  
Sa-well (As in 'Well, Mother...'  
Yameru-stop  
Chikuso-damnit  
Shimatta-oh, shit  
Okaa-Mom, mother  
Ano-um (when you're at a loss for words, this is what you say)   
  
The 'angel of Tartarus' thing refers to Greek mythology. Tartarus was  
the darkest, deepest region in Hades. So referring to her as an angel  
of Tartarus is kind of like saying she's a beautiful being, but inwardly  
evil. I'm not trying to insult anyone's intelligence, just didn't know if  
some would get that


	2. She Only Cried Once

**She Only Cried Once**  
***  
I don't own Sailor Moon.  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Aiyana looked on in carefully concealed disgust as she watched the  
young doctor, Koikokoro Masaya, scarf down a bag of potato chips.   
_Earth people certainly can eat,_ she thought to herself. _If they  
only knew what reality was like._  
  
"So, Khalidah-san," he said, once his mouth was clear of chips,  
"what is this you said about you being changed so that you don't have to  
eat?"  
  
"The scientists on my home world devised a way to make people have  
no need for nourishment," Aiyana answered.  
  
"Okay..." said Masaya. "But, how? I mean, metabolism is one of  
the five life processes. That all has to do with--"  
  
"Food consumption, digestion, excretion," said Aiyana, regarding  
Masaya with cold blue eyes. "I know."  
  
"Good," said Masaya. "So tell me how you are able to not eat and  
live, due to some scientific research."  
  
"I don't know," said Aiyana. "I am not a scientist."  
  
"Well, what did they do to you so that you don't have to eat?"  
Masaya asked, looking at Aiyana with intense smoky-blue eyes. Aiyana  
felt that creeping tingly feeling arise in her belly again, as if a  
thousand tiny butterflies were fluttering around in the middle of her  
stomach. Something about his eyes--  
  
"They injected me with something," Aiyana answered, averting her  
eyes so she wouldn't blush again. She had never felt this way before  
and she didn't really like it. Much. "Some kind of elixir of  
something-or-other."  
  
"But why would they want you to stop eating?" asked Masaya,  
crunching on another handful of potato chips.  
  
"If you think about it, how much time do people waste a day  
eating, drinking, and sleeping?" Aiyana said. "At least five jikoku of  
sleep each night, and a half jikoku for each meal. That's six and a  
half jikoku a jidai. Fifty-two jikoku an isshukan, two hundred eight  
jikoku an ikkagetsu--think about how much you can do with six and a half  
jikoku each jidai, if you weren't doing those things! And in the Alpha  
Star Empire--"  
  
Aiyana clapped her hands over her mouth. She'd accidentally given  
away her home stars!  
  
"You're confusing me!" Masaya said. "What's a jikoku? What's a  
jidai? What's an isshukan? What's an ikkagetsu?"  
  
Maybe he hadn't caught that. Aiyana took a deep, shaky breath,  
and said, "A jikoku is a unit of time. I think it's equivalent to about  
two Earth hours. Each jidai, which is like an Earthen day, is made up  
of sixteen jikoku. Which is about thirty-two hours. Which is like a  
day and a third, on Earth. An isshukan is a eight-jidai period, which  
is like a week, I guess. An ikkagetsu is like a month, except that  
there are four isshukan in a ikkagetsu, which is thirty-two jidai. So  
it is like having a thirty-two day month on Earth, except the days and  
weeks are really long, do you get it?"  
  
"Got it," said Masaya. "And if you think I didn't catch that  
slip-up, you're wrong. I just chose to ignore it."  
  
Aiyana turned bright red, closing her eyes in embarrassment.   
"Well, that is not the first slip-up I have made on this assignment."  
  
"The other one was a good one. What would have happened if you  
did kill the queen? Is your empire planning an invasion on this world?"  
  
Aiyana remained silent.  
  
"So, it's embarrassing to *not* kill someone?" Masaya asked,  
putting down the clipboard.  
  
Aiyana felt a bit more at ease when he put down the board. It  
meant he wasn't recording her life. "Well, it was an assignment. It's  
especially hard if you're one of the few females in the military. No  
one expects very much from you. Which is why I was surprised to get  
this mission at all. Which makes it worse--and thus more  
embarrassing--that I failed."  
  
"So you must have been a good soldier, even if you were a female,  
judging by the way you chose to do things. I bet my mother walked right  
past you, didn't she? The one in the short orange skirt?"  
  
"Yes, she did," admitted Aiyana.  
  
"And I hate to say this, but the queen's really lucky someone was  
there to hit you over the head. We might be having her funeral and  
you'd be on your way back to wherever you're from."  
  
_What?_  
  
"Hit me...over the head?" Aiyana wondered.  
  
"Yeah. You didn't feel that? When they found you, there was a  
big pool of blood around your head, a huge gash in the back of your  
head, and someone had totally zapped your energy. Everyone thought you  
were dead at first, until Haruka-oji checked your pulse. It wasn't  
pretty."  
  
Aiyana drew her hand to the back of her head, burying it in the  
violet tresses. She pushed it to her scalp, until she felt a lumpy,  
hard formation in her head. A scab. She drew it out, shuddering.   
Although it would be covered with her thick violet hair, that gash would  
produce a nasty scar at the back of her head.  
  
Scars.  
  
"So I take it the people at your home speak Japanese?" Masaya  
asked, changing the subject at her discomfort.  
  
"No," she said. "I...already know the language."  
  
Masaya raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He turned over his  
clipboard.  
  
***  
  
Second Omega Prince Tamashiiro Matsudaira smirked as he put down the  
memoranda he'd received from the Council of Thirteen, commonly known  
as the Alpha Council. The first three were questioning him about the  
whereabouts of a young female Gamma he'd had under his charge, but he  
had no idea where she was. She was probably dead by now.  
  
First Delta Aiyana Khalidah had been Tamashiiro's nemesis on the  
military scene since she had first entered into the military at Kappa  
level. She'd risen up through the training levels of Kappa pretty quickly,   
and now she was being appointed at Sixty-Fourth Iota. That was pretty good   
for a female, although there were many other females at Kappa level at the   
time. She really hadn't bothered Tamashiiro much at the time. He was Twelfth   
Epsilon and three levels over her head.  
  
But what did give him a scare is how quickly she rose through the  
military works. Before he knew it, she was First Iota getting promoted  
to Fifty-Sixth Theta. And then, while he made slow progress to the  
position of Third Epsilon, she weaseled her way to the position of Fifth  
Zeta. By the time he made it to First Epsilon, she was in his old position  
at Twelfth Epsilon, and he'd had his first experience of working with her.  
  
She was a quiet young lady, usually very subservient and doing the  
wishes of her overheads. She always did her work quietly and  
efficiently, and was usually done ages before the other men. At first,  
Tamashiiro had been pleased, but after a while he had actually began  
looking for opportunities to find flaws in her work. He never did. She  
was always the first up, dressed, and showered in the morning, always  
the first done in the drills. And she lived up to the expectations of  
the military. She was the very canon of the military--help the  
fellowman, keep the standards high. There was even a time when she had  
helped Tamashiiro himself.  
  
Tamashiiro frowned faintly when he remembered that. They were  
doing scenarios on dusty mesa cliffs, and he had been trooping ahead of  
his comrades, leading them with a straight march ahead. Epsilon Khalidah  
had been striding just as straight not many places behind him. The  
other twenty-two men and two women were stumbling along wearily.  
  
He remembered clearly the feeling he'd had--the proud feeling of  
leading his troop, then, the horrifying feeling of his ankle cracking  
virtually in half due to a false step, then the terror he had felt as he  
felt the piece that his broken ankle was on crumble away, causing him to  
slip down a 3,000-foot gorge.  
  
The next thing he had felt was abject relief as he felt an arm  
shoot out, lightning fast, and catch his arm. He had stopped squirming  
and stood absolutely still, then looked up into the eyes of his savior.  
  
It was young, then about fifteen-year-old Epsilon Khalidah, holding  
onto him and staring down at him with steely blue eyes. Eyes that held  
a look he'd never forget. A look of determination and strength--but  
with just a tinge of untold sadness and yearning.  
  
He had gasped, surprised at her strength. He felt more of it as  
she single-handedly pulled him over the edge of the gorge, him only  
using one of his legs as a brace of support. She was incredibly strong  
for such a young lady.  
  
She had pulled bandages and a splint out of her backpack and had  
silently bandaged his ankle. He remembered her slowly massaging it, and  
he had been extremely surprised at the softness and the soothing touch  
of her hands. He had been surprised to know that one of the highest  
ranking females in the military had a method of keeping her hands soft.   
And she smelled very sweet, as well. Not dirty and dusty, as she should  
have. She smelled like some sort of fragrant flower that Delta Tenkami  
remembered, but had not seen for a long time.  
  
_What kind of woman are you?_ he had thought.  
  
The next thing he felt was excruciating pain as she set the bone.   
He had screamed, embarrassingly.  
  
She said nothing, just stared with those frigid blue eyes of hers.  
  
He looked back at her, discomfited, but she went back on with her  
work. The others still hadn't caught up. She splinted it. And then  
she said the first words she had ever said to him.  
  
"You'll have to get a doctor to cast it when you get back to the  
camp."  
  
He felt strange at that time. Weird, as if some immeasurable  
feeling...some warmth had welled up inside him, and he felt completely  
different. Staring into her eyes, he didn't even feel the pain in his  
ankle anymore.  
  
When the other men and women came back around the corner, two had  
helped him up, and he had limped back leaning on one of them. The  
Second Delta took the lead. And she had walked, head bowed, quietly  
following directions.  
  
But since then he saw her in a new light. Before, he had seen her  
as a weak little mouse, placid and timorous. But now he saw her as a  
powerful warrior, someone who truly had inner strength and power. The  
power was loose, unrecognized, uncontrolled, but it was still there.   
Incredible power, encapsulated in one petite teenage girl. Someone to  
be conquered.  
  
He had slowly left the Epsilons, becoming a Delta, the highest  
ranking official in the military. But he kept hearing reports about  
her--favorable reports. A lot of them were coming from the Alphas, the  
legislative body of the Omega Star Empire. And he would think back to  
that day in which she had helped him in her serene, dutiful way. And he  
found himself feeling more passionately jealous of her--tumultuous  
infatuation. He admired her and...well, he hadn't hated her, but he  
felt negative feelings towards her at the same time.  
  
Pretty soon the young lady made headlines when she became the  
first female Delta--Seventh Delta--when the First Delta had been  
promoted to the Supreme Court of Justice, as the Betas were officially  
called. She became the patron of all kinds of new scientific methods to  
save time and labor with elixirs and tonics injected through syringes,  
along with other people like her in lower ranks. Yet, she still  
remained her faithfully reticent self.  
  
But what she didn't know was that the hell was about to begin.  
  
The Delta didn't like the idea of having a woman in their ranks  
who was steadily rising. First it had just been the little insults, the  
insinuations. But as she rose from Seventh, to Sixth, to Fifth, to  
Fourth, and finally to Third Delta, the men began to hate her. For a  
time she was even right under Tamashiiro's nose, at Fifth when he was at  
Fourth, and they'd been sharing a bunk. The other men felt threatened  
by her. And that's when the physical abuse began.  
  
Tamashiiro remembered what the other Deltas had done to her. As  
First Delta, he really should have done something. But he turned around  
and pretended as if he couldn't see. He had felt resentful towards her  
too, even though he couldn't place the other feelings he had, and  
although at first he had never laid a finger on her, he did more than  
all five of the other men had ever done.  
  
They hit her, beat her, sometimes more than one at once. Smacked  
her, slapped her, clubbed her. But they couldn't break her. She  
remained just as strong as ever. Tamashiiro remembered that most  
clearly about her. He had never seen her break.  
  
A few months later she eclipsed him and took his position as First  
Delta. The Deltas were shocked, even respectful at first. Tamashiiro,  
however, was furious that the young lady had beat him out of his  
position.  
  
But she remained strong, like a wooden block. She only lost it,  
she only cried, once.  
  
It was her birthday that day, Tamashiiro now recalled. The  
emperor and the Alphas requested that she come before the council.   
Later he found out that it was to wish her a happy birthday. Many  
favored soldiers were given commendation and good wishes on their  
birthdays. That made him irate. He had only twice received special  
commendation, which was much more than most people ever received; she  
had been called before the Council of Thirteen at least seven times.  
  
When she came back, the Deltas had a little birthday surprise for  
her.  
  
They had left her, destitute and alone, in a corner of the  
darkened room. They had been laughing. But he--and he alone--had  
realized that she was sobbing. He was shocked. He had felt...remorse.  
  
He had gone to quickly eat dinner a while after that--leaving her  
alone--and when he came back, she was in bed, asleep. The incident  
seemed forgotten, for the moment.  
  
But he could hardly forget it.  
  
He was glad when he heard that she was going to get a mission off  
the planet, a covert mission as an attempt to add to their empire's  
borders and silence the troubles that had been brewing in a nearby  
galaxy. She had left on that mission about a month and a week ago and  
had not returned since.  
  
Later, Acting First Delta Tenkami (as his name had been then) had   
received a memo. It said that he was requested by the Alphas. When he  
appeared before the council, they asked about Delta Khalidah. He replied   
that she hadn't returned. Sighing, the First Alpha told him that the   
Emperor requested a successor and wanted him to become the Prince of the   
Omega Star Empire. Nothing like that had ever happened before, but the   
elderly emperor had no wife and no sons or daughters. So he requested   
that he adopt a successor. This easily happened, and Tamashiiro became Second  
Omega Prince Tamashiiro Matsudaira.  
  
Afterward he realized that if Delta Khalidah had come back as  
scheduled, she would have become the first adopted princess of the Omega Star  
Empire--beating him out of position again--and would have become the  
first Empress of the empire without a husband, unless the emperor had  
married her off, which he doubted he would do. The emperor thought very  
highly of Delta Khalidah, and believed that she could run the empire  
smoothly without help from a man. "After all," he often said after  
stating this opinion, "she did beat all of you men out of your  
positions, didn't she? She was the highest ranking in the entire  
military--men included." Now the emperor never tired of talking about  
how attractive, how graceful, how serene, and how dutiful the young  
Delta had been, as if she were his own daughter.  
  
Tamashiiro grinned when he thought about it. The First Delta was  
probably dead by now, either by getting herself killed or getting  
executed by the government there. She had been gone way too long. The  
Alphas were already considering installing another Epsilon into the  
Deltas, just as a precaution. For right now there were only six Deltas,  
and there were supposed to be seven.  
  
His grin faded into another of his famous smirks when he did think  
back to the young Deltas. His father--for he had begun to think of the  
emperor as such--was right: she was rather elegant. Shy, but graceful,  
serene. And certainly attractive. He remembered fondly the soothing  
touch of her hands.  
  
And the vision of her crying, sitting defenseless in the corner of  
the room, haunted him. That made him incensed. He hated the feeling of  
not feeling in control, at the top, having authority...especially over  
this unknown, intruding feeling. And he knew the only way that he would  
feel triumphant over this haunting vision is to have the First Delta,  
conquer her, bring her back, and discover all her powers, her secrets,  
her mysteries.  
  
And if she was still alive, that was exactly what was going to  
happen.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
AN:  
-jikoku: hour  
-jidai: day  
-isshukan: week  
-ikkagetsu: month  
  
Oh, and with the names. In Japanese (and on Earth), the names come surname-  
personal name. In the Omega Star Empire (where the second part of this  
chapter mostly takes place; Prince Tamashiiro's reflection) the names come  
personal-surname.  
  
If I missed something, e-mail me at keskiivikko@yahoo.com


	3. They Were Jealous

Chapter Three - They Were Jealous  
I don't own Sailor Moon.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
***  
  
"Good afternoon, sweetheart," said Koikokoro Minako, leaning  
forward to kiss her son on the cheek as he came in the door that  
afternoon.  
  
"Konnichi wa, Okaa-sama," said Masaya, accepting the kiss. His  
mother was in the kitchen, which was the first thing you came in their  
house, cooking dinner. "What's for dinner?"  
  
"Look, is that the first thing you ask me on your way in the  
house?" asked Minako teasingly as she watched her son retreat into the  
family room. "No 'Okaa, how are you?' Just 'What's for dinner?'"  
  
"Yep." Masaya grinned as his mother swatted at him with her  
spatula.  
  
"For your information, it's lasagna, and it's almost ready," said  
Minako, shaking her head at her son.  
  
"Hey, what's up, Imouto-chan?" asked Masaya, ruffling his  
fourteen-year-old younger sister's neck-length straight blond hair. He  
was ten years older than his sister, twenty-four, but he was already  
going through med school because he had finished school early, being as  
intelligent as he was.  
  
"Hey, Onii-san," Emi replied, not lifting her light blue eyes  
from the thick book she was reading. She was just like Masaya, very  
intelligent and usually reading big books. That part of them came from  
Sadayoshi, their father. He was quiet and brooding, a lot like Karei.   
Masaya was also intelligent, but he tended to be sillier sometimes, like  
his mother. And he ate a lot more than all three of them.  
  
"How was work?" asked Minako.  
  
"It was okay," said Masaya cautiously. He knew that his mother  
wanted to find out information from him about the young assassin that he  
was doctoring. But he kept all his patients' information confidential  
unless it was pending to the someone's survival.  
  
Unfortunately, his mother might demand to know because she felt  
that the young woman was still a threat to Neo-Queen Serenity, no matter  
how confined she was in the hospital. But Masaya didn't get the  
impression that the young woman was a very dangerous person. He saw her  
as any typical extraordinary teenager--one who tried to please and  
carried out the duties she knew she should.  
  
Also very pretty.  
  
Masaya felt like smacking himself. 'What am I thinking? She's  
only seventeen!'  
  
'Calm down, Masaya,' the other half of him said. 'You just  
said she was attractive. It's not like you were coming on to her or  
something.'  
  
'But you know you were.'  
  
Masaya shook the conversation out of his brain and looked up to  
see his mother staring at him strangely. Masaya had a very expressive  
face, and she could probably see his indecision written all over his  
face.  
  
His father, Koikokoro Sadayoshi, came down the stairs. Sadayoshi  
was a lawyer and a very good one at that. Minako was a paralegal, when  
she wasn't protecting the queen.  
  
"Masaya," he said, nodding at his son. Masaya nodded back. He  
had never really been very close to his parents, and even his sister.   
He loved them all dearly, but he didn't feel close to him because he  
felt that they weren't interested in the same things as he was. He felt  
closer to his fellow physician Amesuino Ami and her family. Minako and  
Sadayoshi never seemed to mind. Ami was like a sister to Minako, since  
they were both Senshi and had known her since they were both fourteen,  
and Sadayoshi and Ami's husband Yorihisa were as close as brothers, both  
serving in the king's army in the past when he was the prince of the  
Earth.  
  
Long story.  
  
Masaya even liked Ami's two-year-old twin daughters Amesuino  
Kasumi and Kourini, and Ami's punk daughter Amesuino Izumi, who was an  
thirteen-year-old ball of energy. If Izumi and Karei didn't look so  
much like their mothers, he would think they were switched at birth.  
  
"You're just in time, sweetheart. Dinner's ready," said Minako,  
smiling at her husband.  
  
Once sitting at the dinner table, the usual conversation ensued.   
Sadayoshi talked about work; Minako talked about both her job as a  
paralegal and a protector of the queen, talked about the antics of her  
colleagues.  
  
"So, how was work, Masaya?" Sadayoshi turned and asked his son  
with a straight face.  
  
"Not much different from usual," Masaya replied nonchalantly.  
  
"I know you have a new patient," Minako prodded.  
  
Masaya choked on his rice. Emi thunked him on the back.  
  
"Arigatou," he gagged.  
  
"No problem."  
  
"So, what did you find out from her?"  
  
"Who?" Masaya feigned ignorance.  
  
"The assassin."  
  
"Okaa, you know I can't tell you that," Masaya said, conceding to  
face the discussion. "I have to keep all patient information  
confidential--"  
  
"Unless it's pending to someone's survival," Minako finished. She  
knew the law very well. "And this is definitely pending to someone very  
important's life--the queen."  
  
Emi and Sadayoshi braced themselves for another mother-son  
argument. They reigned at the Koikokoro household, although they  
usually weren't serious like this one.  
  
"It's isn't really," said Masaya.  
  
"Masaya, what do you mean 'it isn't really'? This young woman  
tried to assassinate the queen!" Minako declared.  
  
"I know that, Okaa," Masaya said in his infuriatingly patient  
argument voice.  
  
"Good. Then you know the importance of giving the information on  
your patient."  
  
"Exactly. Zero percent."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Okaa, Aiyana is just like any normal teenage girl. She's got her  
fears and makes her mistakes. And one of her biggest ones was the one  
she pulled the other day."  
  
"Oh, yeah. Biggie biggie biggie."  
  
"Well, she's not doing anything right now. She's just sitting in  
the hospital. She's not planning on taking over the world just yet,  
Mom."  
  
"That doesn't mean her overheads aren't," Minako argued. "Just  
like the queen said the day she came, a girl her age wouldn't just take  
the initiative to just come up and kill the queen."  
  
"Maybe she just wanted some attention."  
  
"Masaya!!"  
  
"Look, Mom, even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to tell you  
much. All I found was her name, her age, and her birthdate." 'And  
where's she's from, but she didn't directly tell me that. It was  
labeled a slip-up, so it doesn't count,' Masaya thought, trying to  
convince himself he wasn't lying to his mother. He wasn't a really good  
liar.  
  
And his mother knew it. She scrutinized his face until she was  
satisfied. "What are they?" she asked.  
  
"Her name is Aiyana Khalidah. She's seventeen. She was born on  
January fourteenth."  
  
"How did you find all this out?" Sadayoshi asked, seeing the eye  
of the storm had passed over the Koikokoro household.  
  
"I just asked. In a civilized manner. My idea of getting  
information isn't holding a sword to her neck and demanding." Masaya  
narrowed his eyes at his mother. She glared back.  
  
"You just asked, and she just told you?" Sadayoshi looked  
strangely at his son. "Either you're right about her not being a menace  
to society, or she's got one hell of a crush on you."  
  
Masaya burst into wild laughter. "Otou, we're talking about a  
girl who's a *trained assassin*. I'm sure she'd rather kill me."  
  
***  
  
Aiyana put a hand over her stomach as she began to feel it churn.   
That was a record, these last two weeks. She'd never felt so sick  
before. But lately she'd been feeling really, really sick, especially  
in the mornings.  
  
Dr. Amesuino Ami walked in just as Aiyana was running to the  
bathroom. She heard a thump as the young girl collapsed, then the  
assorted sounds of a very in-depth vomiting session.  
  
Gasping, Aiyana walked back to the bed and collapsed over it.  
  
"Are you all right?" Ami asked, looking strangely at the young  
woman.  
  
Still panting, Aiyana nodded weakly.  
  
"Must be something you ate," Ami said.  
  
Aiyana shook her head.  
  
"Oh, right. I remember Masaya telling me that. Well. Masaya's a  
pediatrician, but I'm going to be you're real doctor from now on. My  
name's Amesuino Ami, and I'm an ob/gyn. You know what that is?"  
  
"Yes," said Aiyana, gathering herself back together and climbing  
back in the bed.  
  
"Good. So you know, I'm just the doctor for you. You can just  
call me Ami."  
  
Aiyana stared back. She didn't feel comfortable at calling older  
people by their first names. She had been taught since she was younger  
to respect her elders.  
  
"So. You're seventeen," said Ami, sitting down across from  
Aiyana. "Whoa, turn down the strobes."  
  
"I'm sorry," Aiyana said ruefully, turning her intense stare  
downwards. "It's a habit I have." She didn't know why she felt  
apologetic.  
  
"Don't worry about it. We've all got plenty of annoying  
idiosyncrasies. Actually, I'm sure if I were a bit younger and a member  
of the male race I wouldn't mind at all." Ami smiled. "You're very  
pretty, Aiyana."  
  
"Thank you," said Aiyana automatically. She couldn't believe how  
different she felt here. Was it just being here on Earth with all of  
these strange and different people, or was it something else?  
  
"Now, understand that you're not really in this hospital for any  
sicknesses," said Ami, smiling again. "It's just that...well, some  
people believe that you're a threat. Making believe that you're sick  
just makes it easier for you to remain unharmed. Except that now it  
looks like you really are sick. Did you have any sicknesses before you  
left wherever you came from, Aiyana?"  
  
So. Masaya hadn't told anyone about where she was from. She was  
glad for that, and wondered why he hadn't told anyone. Did he really  
have that much loyalty to all his patients, or was it just her? At the  
latter thought, Aiyana felt a little flutter in her stomach, and it  
wasn't from her illness.  
  
"No," she answered Ami.  
  
"Were you exposed to any diseases or disorders before you left?"  
  
"No." At least, she didn't think so. Unless one of the men in  
her squadron had some kind of disease. Especially the Second  
Gamma...instantly Aiyana felt her stomach wrench and she felt like she  
was going to throw up again.  
  
Which she did.  
  
"Ooh, that's not pretty," said Ami. "Well, maybe you contracted  
some kind of disease on the way here. We'll have you tested later on  
today, when you're feeling a little better."  
  
Aiyana nodded before falling back on the bed, heaving a deep  
breath.  
  
"I'll get someone in here to clean that up," said Ami, looking in  
distaste at the floor.  
  
Aiyana nodded again, and Ami left. A few minutes later, a servant  
entered to clean the floor, but Ami didn't return.  
  
But someone else did return. Masaya.  
  
"What's that smell?" he asked almost immediately, sniffing the  
air.  
  
"Oh. The bad smell..." said Aiyana, blushing madly.  
  
"No, not that. I know, Ami told me you threw up. Twice. Are you  
all right?"  
  
Aiyana felt another flutter in her stomach as Masaya looked over  
to her with concern in his intense icy gray-blue eyes. "Yes, I'm fine,"  
she answered, swallowing.  
  
"Good. But no, I was talking about another smell. It  
smells...like roses. Very sweet and pleasant."  
  
Roses? Had the...Aiyana raised her arm and smelled her hand.   
Yes, the elixir had lost some of its effect. She had probably vomited  
most of it up.  
  
"That's...me," she said, blushing again.  
  
"Oh, so the female assassins on your planet wear perfume on their  
missions?" asked Masaya, raising an eyebrow. "Give the target an  
aphrodisiac before he dies?"  
  
"No..." Aiyana swallowed again, turning red. This was getting  
really hard, telling him anything or even looking at him. She looked  
down at the bed. "It's a natural scent. I don't know how it came, but  
I guess I was born with it. I've had it for as long as I can remember,  
and no matter how hard I scrubbed, I could never get it to go away. I  
was constantly teased about it." There she was again, giving away all  
her life. But she was surprised to realize she actually felt a little  
better that that piece about her life was out. "That, and this weird  
ability to kind of...heal myself and others...were these special gifts I  
guess I was born with. But when the elixirs were injected, I guess it  
kind of counteracted my natural abilities with its artificial ones.   
Although I think I must have vomited most of it out, so it's beginning  
to come back, slowly."  
  
"Weird," said Masaya. "But I'm glad the elixirs are gone. Maybe  
the reason why you vomited is because your body realized that it  
couldn't live like this, without eating or sleeping, and it had to get  
rid of the toxins. What do you mean, heal yourself?"  
  
"Any small cuts or something that I got would immediately heal,"  
said Aiyana. "No scars, no scabs, nothing. Just my smooth skin again.   
I guess that's why I never got acne." Again, she felt as if she was  
going to smile, remembering the days that she had spent in the army when  
the other girls had agonized over their skin's blemishes and lamented  
about how smooth her skin was. And again, she felt like saying  
something. "When I was in the military the girls used to hate me for  
it."  
  
"Just jealous," Masaya said softly, looking at Aiyana, wishing she  
would look up at him. But she didn't.  
  
"Bigger cuts would take a little longer to heal, but still not  
very long, maybe a few hours. And breaks in the bone would take a lot  
shorter than everyone else's, maybe a week or two. But I guess that  
went away when the scent disappeared too." Aiyana thought about the  
scars all over her arms, legs, torso, and turned down again, burning  
with embarrassment and overwhelming sadness. She didn't want to think  
about all of those horrible scars and how they had gotten there.  
  
"So you scar now?" Masaya scratched his head. "I guess that's  
why the back of your head got a scar. So, when did this elixir really  
start kicking in?"  
  
"The scents, they were a weak part of my heritage, so they  
disappeared almost immediately. But the scarring...took a few weeks.   
It just started about five weeks ago. It really scared me, the first  
time I had ever seen my own scars and cuts and my own blood running down  
my body..." Aiyana stopped, blinking hard. She felt as if she were  
about to cry again, and she didn't want to do that again--not ever.   
Because if she cried, she'd let herself go, and all those horrible  
memories would come rushing back...  
  
"The first time? All this happened? When was this?"  
  
Aiyana didn't answer, just kept staring down at the bed, trying to  
blink back her tears. 'What is wrong with me? Two months ago I would  
never have even thought of crying. What is wrong with me?!'  
  
Masaya remained silent for a moment. Then he sat down on the bed  
and reached out to touch Aiyana's arm. "Something happened to you,  
Aiyana."  
  
Aiyana didn't say anything, although she shuddered at the touch of  
his hand. It was too familiar.  
  
'No! These visions...that nightmare...it's coming back,' she  
told herself, and she tasted the saltiness of a tear sliding down her  
cheek. She bent her head further, causing her hair to fall over her  
face and hide herself. She didn't want anyone on this planet to see her  
crying, especially not Masaya.  
  
"Aiyana, are you crying?"  
  
Aiyana was silent. Her new goal was not to prevent the tears from  
sliding down her face, but to prevent her crying from turning into  
audible sobbing. She could keep her dignity if she was quiet.  
  
"Aiyana, what's wrong? What happened while you were in the  
military?" Masaya's voice had gotten infinitely softer, until it was  
almost a whisper, barely audible.  
  
'Please...don't say anything else...'  
  
Masaya thought a moment, then turned back to the young woman  
before him. "You were one of the few females...the only female in your  
squadron...did they hurt you, Aiyana? Or worse...?"  
  
That was it. Aiyana's last shred of control snapped and she began  
to sob, her shoulders shaking.  
  
Masaya got up, walked to the door, and closed it. On an  
afterthought, he locked it. Then he walked back to the bed and sat. He  
was careful not to touch the young woman.  
  
"Did they?" he asked again.  
  
"Yes." Aiyana was more startled by her tearful answer than Masaya  
was. "Yes, Masaya, they did." It was the first time she'd ever used  
Masaya's name.  
  
Masaya was halfway shocked to see this young woman--so cool and  
confident just a few days before, a little over a week--collapse in  
tears. But if he guessed correctly, she was only letting out what had  
been building up for months and months.  
  
"What did they do?"  
  
"I was the only female," said Aiyana. "They didn't like it. My  
squadron members...I beat them all out of rank and moved up. They did  
not like it. The farther I got, the worse it got..."  
  
"Just slurs? Or did they beat you up all along?"  
  
"They beat me up all along! All the time, especially after I  
became Third Gamma...third in rank...I had beaten five men out of their  
positions and they hated me for it. So they decided to beat me in their  
own way...it hurt, but not a lot. That was before the injections..."  
  
"Go on. Keep going."  
  
"I was moved up again. I was first, and the former first ranking  
was very angry. He had always hated me, I knew it, because I worked  
with him before, but he had always felt smug because he was above me.   
But now I was above him, and he really hated me...he was looking for an  
opportunity to get back at me. It was birthday. My seventeenth. I was  
called down for special commendation. Not a lot of people get that.   
They were jealous, Masaya...they were waiting for me when I came back.   
I knew they would be. But I didn't expect..." Her voice broke in a  
loud sob.  
  
"Expect what?" Masaya prodded, very gently.  
  
"They teased me. I expected that. I didn't care...but then, the  
third one, he said something...and they all laughed..." Her sobs began  
again, coming heavy and loud. She fell down on the bed, face down, her  
shoulders heaving with sobs.  
  
Masaya said nothing this time, just looked down at her.   
Hesitantly, he placed a hand on her back, then began stroking softly.  
  
"They took off my clothes, Masaya, and they started to beat me.   
But then, they all got in a circle around the second...I couldn't see  
what they were doing, but I found out...he got on top of me, Masaya...I  
felt him go in me...and it hurt!" She exploded into sobs again.  
  
Masaya's mouth dropped open in abject shock.  
  
She had been raped.  
  
Aiyana had been raped. 


	4. Necessary Questions

Chapter Four - Necessary Questions  
I don't own Sailor Moon  
***  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Ami! Ami, wait!" Masaya rushed after Ami, who was hurrying down  
the bright hospital hallway to some other room in the palace's hospital.   
Orderlies, candy-stripers, nurses, and other doctors softly and quietly  
padded down the hallways of the hospital, pushing carts of medications  
and gurneys with patients.  
  
Ami whirled. Masaya was rushing urgently to her side. "What is  
it, Masaya? I've got to see about this other patient, she's having an  
exam today..."  
  
"I know, Ami, it'll only take a second and it's really important,"  
said Masaya. "I just talked to Aiyana...Ami, when she was in the  
military up there, they...well, they..."  
  
Masaya swallowed his words. He couldn't even begin to tell Ami  
what Aiyana had told him.  
  
"What, Masaya? They did what?" Ami turned to face the younger  
man, concern etched in her face.  
  
"Ami, they...forced her against her will."  
  
Ami turned to fully face Masaya, her expression confused. "Wha...what?"   
she asked seriously.  
  
"They raped her, Ami!" Masaya exclaimed in a loud whisper,  
flustered by his own reaction and somewhat frustrated that Ami hadn't  
realized what he was talking about before.  
  
"Oh, my..." Ami buried her face in her hands. "That poor girl."  
  
Masaya stood by, watching Ami's reaction. He couldn't even  
imagine what it would be like to be a girl and taken advantage of that  
way. He gathered that other females could relate to those that were;  
and he knew from reading newspapers and news reviews that women that  
were raped were often traumatized for weeks or years afterwards. But he  
never could really relate. And how could he be expected to? Even  
though he was a sensitive person, he was still a man.  
  
But Ami...Ami seemed very bothered by it. Ami was also a  
sensitive person, and he knew that she was putting herself in Aiyana's  
position. Maybe that's why Masaya felt closer to Ami and her family  
than he did to his own. They were more like himself, and Ami was so  
much more like he was than his mother.  
  
"I was thinking that maybe what she's suffering from might be a  
sexually transmitted disease," said Masaya.  
  
"Good thinking," said Ami. "I'm really glad we have someone like  
you in this hospital, Masaya. You think of everything."  
  
"Only the few things you don't think of," Masaya said modestly.  
  
"Still, I shouldn't not think of anything. These things are  
important. Anyway, I've really got to get to this patient,  
Masaya...meanwhile, you ask her the necessary questions."  
  
"Necessary questions?" He knew what Ami meant, but she couldn't  
possibly think he would be able to do that.  
  
"You know what I mean," said Ami, and she actually meant it, not  
just substituting the common saying for "you'll figure it out".  
  
"Ami, I wouldn't feel comfortable asking her that!" Masaya  
exclaimed. "How am I supposed to ask her that?!"  
  
"You're a doctor," said Ami. "Go figure it out. I'll be there in  
a few hours, okay?" And before Masaya could protest anymore, she had  
disappeared around a corner.  
  
Masaya sighed helplessly as he watched the place where she had  
been. Then he sighed and retreated back towards Aiyana Khalidah's  
hospital room.  
  
***  
  
  
"I am not asleep. You can come in."  
  
Aiyana opened both eyes after stating this, seeing that it was  
Masaya who was coming back again. Unless what she remembered was just a  
bad dream, which she hoped it was. In that case, Masaya would be making  
his first entrance into her room and he wouldn't know the horrible truth  
about her, that she wasn't really the strong and collected young woman  
that she portrayed herself to be--but was rather a weak and confused  
teenage girl abused by her so-called comrades.  
  
But then again, if her memory was just of a nightmare, then she  
really hadn't felt Masaya's soft hands on her back, stroking her gently  
and consoling her, and she had just conjured up the image of him  
stroking her hair and comforting her to sleep...  
  
The thoughts that battled in her mind, the part of her that wanted  
to insist this was all a bad dream and the part that wanted to say that  
it was real, made such a racket in her mind that she had to lay her head  
down from a headache.  
  
She moaned a little, but she wasn't sure she had really done it  
until Masaya asked, "Are you all right?"  
  
"I suppose so," said Aiyana. "As well as I will be." She thought  
about her statement, then added, "Or not."  
  
Masaya chuckled lightly, while Aiyana stared at him. 'He really  
is very good-looking when he laughs,' she thought. '*Especially* when  
he laughs.'  
  
Masaya fell silent, studying Aiyana quietly, thinking about the  
best way to go about doing this. Lying back in the bed, she looked to  
be exhausted and certainly not very healthy. Thinking back to the first  
day she came here, he thought about the way she had walked back to the  
bed, swaying gently as if she were going to fall over. She didn't look  
healthy then. She certainly didn't look much better now.  
  
How could a man, looking at Aiyana and seeing how lovely she  
was--Masaya had to admit to himself that he was attracted to  
Aiyana--bring himself to lay a finger of pain and disgrace upon her? Or  
even allow that to happen? How could a man, knowing he was much  
stronger than this tiny piece of feminine matter, bring himself to use  
his strength against her? What power and strength could he find in  
beating on someone obviously weaker than himself?  
  
"Masaya..."  
  
Her voice startled him from his thoughts. He raised his head.   
"Yes?"  
  
"All of the things I told you...about when I was in the  
military...was that real, or was it just a dream?"  
  
"What stuff? You mean...about the horrible things they did to  
you?"  
  
"What horrible things?"  
  
The two of them looked each other, and then Masaya burst into  
laughter. Aiyana felt like she would have too, if she were feeling  
better.  
  
"I guess we can't figure out what each other's talking about  
unless we're less vague," he said. "What I meant was...how they raped  
you?"  
  
Rape. The word was like a thousand beatings from the Gammas.   
Aiyana nodded, incapable of speaking.  
  
"That was real," said Masaya. "All too real...I'm really sorry,  
Aiyana. I don't know what else to say. I really can't relate...because  
I'm, you know, a guy. But Ami feels really upset about it."  
  
"You told Dr. Amesuino?!" she exploded angrily, shooting up to a  
sitting position. Her eyes flashed again, looking as if they were  
on violet fire.  
  
Masaya turned pale white. "Oh, Aiyana...I'm sorry, I really  
am..." What a stupid thing for him to say.  
  
"Why did you tell Dr. Amesuino that?" Aiyana asked, narrowing her  
eyes at Masaya furiously. Her eyes were rapidly flashing back and forth  
from blue to violet. It was disturbing.  
  
"I...only wanted to help you, Aiyana..." Masaya bit his lip  
nervously.  
  
'Oh, why did you have to go and do that?!' Aiyana had never  
seen Masaya do this before, and the sight was fascinating. It only made  
him look all the more handsome.  
  
"I thought...no, I *knew* Ami could help you," he went on  
defensively. "I didn't mean to betray your trust...I mean, after all,  
she is your doctor, and I thought she should know...it's very important  
medical information...Oh! That reminds me!" Masaya shook his head as  
if to clear it from apprehensiveness. "I have to ask you some  
questions...please don't hate me forever for this, Aiyana. I didn't  
know that you would be so angry about it..."  
  
Aiyana felt her face soften a little, although she tried to keep  
it taut with anger. But the anger was slowly draining away, making it  
harder to keep that angry face. She saw that Masaya *had* only told Ami  
because he really thought that it would be best for her, and he was  
sincerely distressed that he had made her so upset. It almost gave her  
a warm feeling, that the doctor actually cared so much for  
her.  
  
While thinking these thoughts she must have lost her grip on her  
anger and the power to emanate her anger waves out into the whole room,  
because Masaya looked back up at her face like a puppy with his tail  
between his legs. "Will you forgive me?"  
  
Aiyana sighed, laying back down on the bed. 'I hate men,' she  
thought.  
  
Masaya must have taken her sigh of defeat as an affirmative  
answer, because he smiled weakly and looked back down at the bed with a  
deep blush on his cheeks. The two of them remained silent for a few  
moments.  
  
"Aiyana, I don't want to bring bad memories back up," said Masaya,  
looking up a little, "but I have to ask you a few questions to make sure  
you're all right...and that that guy...didn't pass on anything to you."  
  
"Anything?" Aiyana asked, confused.  
  
"Diseases," Masaya affirmed. "Sexually transmitted diseases.   
That's what could be making you sick now." He turned his eyes down  
again, then back up to her. "Lately, how have you been feeling?"  
  
"Different," said Aiyana, and Masaya laughed.  
  
"Well, that should be obvious," said Masaya. "How different?"  
  
"Very."  
  
Masaya laughed again. "Could we cut the monotone answeres? Be  
explicit. How do you feel different? What about you isn't normal?"  
  
"Almost everything," said Aiyana. "I am not finished," she added,  
when she saw Masaya's apprehension. He smiled.  
  
"Lately...I mean, about a week after the incident, I started  
feeling sick in the mornings. That is not the first time I have thrown  
up in the morning...that is just the first time anyone has ever caught   
me. I also feel very cranky sometimes, like I just need to snap on   
someone. And I have been feeling really hungry, although I am never hungry.   
Especially not for chocolate."  
  
"Chocolate?" Masaya laughed. "You're hungry for chocolate?"  
  
Aiyana smiled. Very faintly, very weakly, but she smiled.  
  
"You're smiling, Aiyana," said Masaya, his eyes sparkling.   
"You're actually smiling."  
  
"I've been wanting to," Aiyana said, reddening with embarrassment  
and turning her eyes downwards. "That is another strange thing. I have  
felt my personality change a lot..I am not as quiet as usual. Like the  
first day I came here, when I brought the sword to you neck...that was  
one of my very cranky days. But other days I just feel like crawling  
into a hole...like the second day I was here. Some days I just feel  
like crying for no reason. And I have suddenly gotten very...what is it?  
Careful. Careful about the things I do and the way I do them. Like I   
would kill someone if I did something the wrong way, someone I care about,   
although I've never remembered caring about anyone. And I have felt...  
uplifted, sort of. More than once, I've felt like smiling or laughing."  
'Especially at you,' she wanted to add, staring at him. "But I just...  
couldn't for some reason."  
  
Masaya smiled himself. Then his smile dropped. 'Wait a  
minute...morning sickness...extended hunger...cravings...mood  
swings...change in personality...extra carefulness...'  
  
"Um, Aiyana, when this guy raped you, did he have a condom on?"  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"A condom. Do you know what that is?"  
  
"I haven't the faintest clue."  
  
"Wait...wait...wait..." Masaya jumped up and scrambled to the  
nighttable dresser. He opened the top drawer, but he couldn't find what  
he wanted. "Hold on, I'll be right back!" He dashed out of the door,  
down to the gynecology and obstetrics wing of the hospital.  
  
He couldn't go to Ami's room, she was examining someone. He ran  
down the hallway to a doctor friend of his's room, Dr. Nakayashi. He  
hoped Dr. Nakayashi wasn't examining anyone.  
  
Suddenly the door swung open, nearly hitting Masaya in the face.   
"Hi, Dr. Kogarashi," she said. "What brings you around to this wing of  
the hospital? Didn't think I'd ever see you here."  
  
"Funny," said Masaya sarcastically, panting. "You've got jokes."   
Dr. Nakayama was about four or five years older than Masaya himself,  
and was constantly teasing him about something or other. "Seriously,  
Dr. Nakayama, do you have a condom I could use?"  
  
Dr. Nakayama raised an eyebrow way, way up. "Masaya...?"  
  
Masaya blushed deeply. "No...I'm doing a sex ed class. I'm not  
going to use it."  
  
Dr. Nakayama laughed. "Right...and what makes you think I've got  
any?"  
  
"The fact that you're married and you don't have any kids."  
  
Now it was Dr. Nakayama's turn to crimson. She disappeared into  
her room and came out holding a small package. "Here...use them wisely,  
Masaya."  
  
Masaya laughed. "I told you..."  
  
"I know...I believe you..."  
  
Masaya returned to Aiyana's room, and sighed in mock exasperation  
as he walked in. "The things I do for you."  
  
"What was the problem?"  
  
"You don't usually walk up to anyone and just ask for a condom  
without getting questions, Aiyana."  
  
"What kind of questions?" She looked sincerely curious, but there was  
a tiny grin brimming at the corners of her mouth.  
  
He socked her lightly with the package, then opened it and showed  
her one. She shook her head.  
  
"No, he didn't have one of *those* on."  
  
"Okay...did he...like, make you swallow a pill or something?"  
  
"A pill? No. That's weird...what are you getting at, Masaya?"  
  
Masaya shook his head. "Aiyana, this is going to seem like a  
really weird question, but...were you...like, on your period at the  
time?"  
  
Aiyana blushed deeply, looking down at the bed again.   
"Um...no...actually..."  
  
"Actually what?"  
  
"I...I don't feel comfortable talking to you about this."  
  
"And you think I *do*? You have to tell me, Aiyana. It's  
important."  
  
"Why is it so important?"  
  
"It affects your health, very, very much."  
  
"How?"  
  
"Just trust me! What was the 'actually' about?"  
  
"Actually...I'm...late."  
  
Masaya frowned for a minute, then his eyes opened wider when he  
realized what she was talking about. "You're...late?"  
  
"Late. Actually, you could count this as 'missed'. I was due two  
and a half weeks ago, before I embarked on this mission. I have not even  
gotten a hint of anything. No cramps, no bloating, not like usual. I  
feel perfectly fine in that respect...aside from everything else that's happening to  
me."  
  
Masaya turned white and stared at Aiyana. "Oh, my god." He stood  
up and took a hold on Aiyana's arm. "Come on. We've got to go. Now."  
  
"Go where?" Aiyana's face contorted as she felt herself begin to  
collapse. Masaya caught her before she hit the floor, then pulled her  
closer to him so he could support her.  
  
"To a testing lab. Somewhere. Anywhere where you can get  
tested."  
  
"Tested for what?"  
  
Masaya merely shook his head.  
  
"Tested for *what,* Masaya?!" Aiyana asked vehemently, slapping  
his hand away and wobbling around to face him unsteadily. "*What is  
wrong with me?!*"  
  
Masaya turned to face Aiyana. "I...I think you might be  
pregnant."  
------------------------------------------------------------------------ 


	5. A Haunting Resemblance

Chapter Five - A Haunting Resemblance  
I don't own Sailor Moon  
***  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"I have a really bad feeling about letting that assassin sit in the hospital."   
Tenoh Haruka said this is a solemn, pensive voice.  
  
"I have a feeling, but I don't exactly know if it's bad," answered Kaioh  
Michiru, Haruka's lover and partner. The two were Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune,  
and the only two unmarried Senshi. Being unmarried, the two most powerful of the  
Senshi leave Pluto and Saturn, and having only nominal jobs--Haruka was a racer  
and Michiru was a violinist--they were usually full-time guardians of the royal family.  
  
"What do you mean?" said Haruka. "It's most probably a bad feeling. She's  
an assassin and she was obviously sent here to kill the king or queen. What makes  
Dr. Suino and Neo-Queen Serenity think she won't try to pull that trick again?"   
Haruka often called the Senshi and their husbands by their formal names when  
speaking of them--"Dr. Amesuino", "Mrs. Kogasunasu", "Mr. Hayashino"--even  
though she knew them intimately.  
  
"I don't even think she's going to try to pull that trick again," said Michiru.   
"There's something about her I sense that is innocuous." Michiru was a bit of a  
clairvoyant; although her clairvoyance wasn't as pronounced as Kogasunasu Rei's, it  
was still quite strong.  
  
"I thought you said you could hear the sea roaring in your ears when she is  
near," Haruka said, frowning. Michiru hardly ever disagreed with her.  
  
"I do, but it's not from her," said Michiru. "I felt the sea roaring from  
something connected to her, not directly from her."  
  
"Think she has anything to do with what the sensors are picking up?" Haruka  
asked. Lately the intergalactic satellite sensors had been picking up advanced radio  
waves from somewhere near. Somewhere halfway across the galaxy, but still a little  
too near, and rapidly approaching.  
  
"Maybe so," said Michiru. "But that's not totally it. There is something else I  
feel about this young woman..." Michiru closed her eyes. In her mind she formed  
the perfect vision of a young girl with short violet hair and piercing, glowing violet  
eyes. Then she formed the picture of this young woman, the assassin. She  
shuddered when she saw the assassin's eyes flash an eerie violet color in anger.  
  
"Something closer, more intimate."  
  
"Michiru, something is bothering me. Something you said about the assassin  
the first night, when she was discovered. You said, 'she doesn't look familiar to any  
of, except...' and then you cut off. Then when the king asked you what, you said  
'nothing relevant'. What did you feel? What was the problem?"  
  
"I..." Michiru turned her eyes to Haruka again. "It was that feeling again.   
Except I also saw something, too, that anyone could see if they looked long enough."  
  
"What did you see?"  
  
"I saw...I saw Hotaru, Haruka."  
  
Haruka's eyes widened. "You, too?"  
  
"You saw it too?" Michiru asked, looking back at Haruka.  
  
"Yes," Haruka answered. "She looks like Hotaru. A little."  
  
"Not a little," Michiru said, shaking her head. "A lot. Very much. Her skin,  
her hair, everything resembles Hotaru, except she's a lot taller than Hotaru. She  
bears a haunting resemblance to Hotaru. The only thing is her eyes; they're blue,  
but they're a blue like no one else's. They're a deep ocean blue, the kind of eyes  
that pierce straight through you and come out on the other end. They're so strong,  
they're like strobe lights."  
  
"They're the kind of eyes men get lost in," Haruka joked, half serious.  
  
"Exactly," said Michiru. "That's why she's dangerous, especially around  
Koikokoro Masaya. I can't believe they would put him up as a doctor to a beauty like  
that."  
  
"He's not her doctor," said Haruka. "Ami just asked him to check on her. She  
didn't mean for him to follow up on it. In any event, Ami's a gynecologist, and she's  
the girl's doctor. She's going to find out if the girl has any diseases that she might  
have passed on to the queen, or to us."  
  
"Especially you," Michiru said. "You touched her blood."  
  
"You helped clean it up."  
  
"It's not the same," she said, shaking her head. She closed her eyes again  
and thought about the young woman, laying in the bed, blue eyes open. "Her eyes,  
Haruka...they look like someone else's, I just don't know who!"  
  
***  
  
King Endymion walked into his office chamber, then closed the door behind  
him. Thinking again, he locked it, then walked over to his desk.  
  
He smiled when he looked at it. It was free of the clutter that he saw looking  
at his wife's dresser every day. Serenity's dresser clutter, however, was clutter of  
love; all over there were awards and pictures from Chibiusa and the children of the  
Senshi, who were like nieces and nephews to her. The endless awards and  
insurmountable stack of papers dated all the way back to her the copy she had of  
Minako's oldest son's first report card--straight one's. Minako had been so proud of  
her baby boy. At the time, she and Mako had been the only ones to have any  
children; and Mako's son was only a year old. Serenity had demanded a photocopy  
of Masaya's work. King Endymion smiled fondly when he remembered the day  
Minako had come to the palace, Masaya in tow, and remembered the huge smile on  
six-year-old Masaya's face when he held out his kindergarten grade report. Serenity  
had placed it proudly on her then nearly-clean desk.  
  
Now it was full of pictures, school papers, and grade reports from each of the  
Senshi's thirteen children, plus Endymion and Serenity's own daughter, Chibiusa.   
Even two-year-old Kogasunasu Himeko--who was only two years old--pitched in  
when she picked up a pen and scribbled all over a piece of paper. Rei, who had four  
other children, was not impressed, but Serenity had been delighted and asked to  
keep the paper. Rei agreed, and so that was Serenity's newest addition on her  
dresser.  
  
King Endymion looked back at his own desk, clean and devoid of childhood  
citations, only with a pencil case and a few stacked manila folders containing  
important documents.  
  
'Well,' Endymion thought, 'even if my desktop isn't cluttered with all  
the records of treasured children's reports, my heart is.   
  
And my top desk drawer.'  
  
He took out a key and unlocked his desk drawer, pulling it open. Reaching his  
hand inside, he pushed aside all the dozens white envelopes and school papers until  
he found the one he was looking for. It was lavender and stood out among all the  
white ones. It had lacy handwriting on the front upper left corner: *Tomoe Hotaru.   
1271 Koganyana. Ayakashi, Aphrodite Pref., 762-04.*  
  
***  
  
Aiyana sat in her chair, squirming. She was waiting for Ami and Masaya to  
come back with the results of her pregnancy test, but they seemed to be taking  
forever.  
  
When Masaya had told her that he thought she was pregnant, she felt like a  
huge steel ball had been dropped on her stomach. 'Me? Pregnant? I can't raise a  
child! I'm only seventeen!'  
  
But at the same time, she had felt a certain relief. 'At least now I know  
what's been bothering me so much. That's why I've been acting so crazy lately.'  
  
Now she was sitting in her chair, outside the inner lab room, in a totally  
different hospital room.  
  
Masaya walked out of the inner room. Aiyana looked up at him hopefully.  
  
"No news yet," Masaya said, shaking his head. He squatted in front of  
Aiyana. "It's going to take a little while. Ami's using the error-proof test. It takes  
longer, but it's almost never wrong."  
  
"'Almost' never?" Aiyana said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"As in point zero zero two percent."  
  
Aiyana let out her breath and shook her head.  
  
"Are you scared?" Masaya asked.  
  
Aiyana was about to shake her head no, but she changed her response and  
gave a slight up and down shake of the head. "A little, I suppose."  
  
Masaya smiled and patted her hand. "Don't worry about it. Try not to think of  
it, if it scares you. Think about something else, if it pleases you. Remember, I could  
be wrong."  
  
"You haven't been so far," Aiyana replied, looking back up at him.  
  
"Yes I was. I said that you probably had a sexually transmitted disease."  
  
"If I'm pregnant, then I do."  
  
Masaya laughed. "It's not a *disease,* Aiyana."  
  
"Eek! Masaya, come in here!"  
  
"Coming, Ami." Masaya rose from his squatting position. He walked into the  
inner lab room, and a few minutes later Aiyana heard him squeak.  
  
"Do you see what I see, Masaya?"  
  
"Yeah...I see it..."  
  
The two of them stayed in the inner room a few minutes more, then came out  
together. Masaya had an apprehensive look on his red face, and Ami had an amused  
one on hers.  
  
"Are there...genetic differences between humans and the people where you're  
from?" He was being careful not to reveal it. Aiyana felt another little flutter in her  
stomach.   
  
"Centurians," Aiyana said. "And the other planet's peoples are Proximians."  
  
"You're from another planet?" Ami asked incredulously.  
  
"Yes," Aiyana answered.  
  
"I didn't hear that. And I'd advise you to make sure no one else does."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"So...this guy...he's a Centurian?"  
  
"No. He...I think he was actually one of our natives, an Andromedan."  
  
"Weird." Masaya shook his head.  
  
"Okay. Enough with that. Aiyana, I have some good news, and then I have  
news news. The good news is that you don't have any sexually transmitted diseases.   
In fact, you're almost perfectly healthy, with the exception of being malnourished."  
  
Aiyana sighed in relief.  
  
"The news news is...you're pregnant, Aiyana."  
  
***  
  
  
"Aiyana, are you awake?"  
  
After Ami had told Aiyana that she was pregnant, she had merely stared at  
Masaya and Ami for a few moments. It was eerie; it looked as if she hadn't heard  
anything. Just when Masaya was about to reiterate what Ami had said, her eyes  
widened and she said, "What?"  
  
Ami had repeated her statement.  
  
Aiyana had buried her head in her hands.  
  
Masaya, startled and worried, had bent down to see what was wrong. She  
had picked up her face and the two's eyes had met. They locked their gaze for a few  
moments--maybe two seconds, but to them it had felt like two days. Then they had  
both quickly looked away.  
  
"Are you all right?" Masaya had asked in a very concerned voice.  
  
Aiyana didn't reply, just kept her face in her hands.  
  
"Aiyana, it's not the end of the world," Ami said gently, kneeling down next to  
Masaya and gently pulling Aiyana's hands away from her face. "In fact, it's not even  
bad at all. Being a mother is something wonderful. You think now, 'I'm pregnant',  
but pretty soon you'll think 'I'm going to have a baby' instead. And once you do  
have the baby, you'll never, ever regret it. A child is a lot of work, but it's also a lot  
of love and fun also."  
  
Aiyana looked down at Ami, then at Masaya. Masaya didn't say anything, just  
squeezed her hand and smiled, his eyes full of warmth.  
  
Now it was the next morning, and Aiyana was recalling this image in her mind  
as she heard Ami's voice. She pulled the covers farther up over her head, trying to  
cover her face and hold onto her dream.  
  
"Mmmm-hmmm," she mumbled reluctantly.  
  
"You hiding under there?"  
  
Aiyana didn't respond; instead she snugged farther down under the thick  
blanket. Ami had given it to her; it was dark blue on one side and lighter blue on the  
other. She had also given her a clean new nightgown. This one was white and it  
was much warmer than the thin lavender one she had been wearing the first few  
weeks. Ami had told Aiyana that she needed to keep warm; the baby might drain  
body heat from her.  
  
"That happened when I was pregnant with my twin girls," she'd said. "I don't  
know how. They do it sometimes, though."  
  
"Are you hungry?" Ami asked now, sitting down in the chair where Masaya  
usually sat. "I've got some food for you."  
  
Giving up the battle to hold onto her lost dream, Aiyana rolled over and  
looked at Ami. She shook her head.  
  
"Come on, Aiyana. Sit up and eat. You've got to eat for two people now. If  
you're not going to eat for yourself, eat for the baby."  
  
Aiyana sat up a little bit more, the blankets still wrapped around her. "Who  
made it?" she asked timidly.  
  
"Today's one of those crawl-in-a-hole days, hmmm?" Ami asked with a smile.   
"Actually, Masaya made it. He knew you probably wouldn't feel like eating, so he  
decided to make something special for you to entice you into eating."  
  
Aiyana sat up just a little straighter. "Can he cook?"  
  
"Yes, very well. When he was in college he took several culinary courses. He  
didn't know whether he wanted to be a pediatrician or a chef. He chose the former."  
  
Aiyana scooted a little closer to the night table and looked at the food. It  
*did* look good. "What is it?"  
  
"It's called quiche," Ami said, pronouncing it "keesh". "It's like a breakfast  
cake, except it has peppers and cheese and egg you can taste in it. It's really good.   
When Masaya was still in college he made it for us at my house. The boy--well, I  
guess I should say the man--can cook." Ami smiled and sighed a little. "It's hard  
not to think of him as a boy. I still remember his first day of school, and then the  
day he came over to give me his first grade report."  
  
Aiyana took the pair of chopsticks from the night table top and severed a  
piece of the quiche. She picked it up and ate it. "It tastes good!" she said in delight.  
  
Ami laughed. "Yes, I know."  
  
Aiyana took another piece from the quiche and ate it. She began to eat a  
little faster, smiling after a while. "This is very good," she said. "Did Masaya get  
good grades in his culinary class?"  
  
"Very good grades. Straight ones. In fact, he's always gotten straight ones.   
I remember one time he was actually *mad* because he'd gotten a two in the third  
grade in history."  
  
Aiyana smiled.  
  
"But he's very intelligent. He took an associate's degree program in high school, graduated a year early and went to med school for seven years. He's actually a novice doctor, he's being assisted by me and another doctor who's a pediatrician. He's the youngest doctor in the hospital. Everyone likes to tease him. But he's still such a good doctor. He's wonderful with  
children, and I know for a fact that he wants plenty of his own...if he ever finds  
someone to have them with."  
  
Aiyana continued to eat, looking down at the food but smiling to herself. She  
liked hearing about Masaya. Especially the part about him wanting children.   
Although she hadn't really ever thought about the prospect of starting a family until  
now, coming to Earth and now being forced to, she thought maybe she would like  
having children and a family. Maybe.  
  
"Ami...could I ask you a question?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"I don't know if this has anything to do with me being pregnant, or just being  
on Earth, or something else...but I keep getting these strange...feelings."  
  
"Feelings?" Ami gave her a confused smile. "What kind of feelings?"  
  
"It's not a sick feeling, or even a bad feeling. It's just...sometimes it feels  
good, but other times it just feels...weird. And it always feels different, but yet the  
same."  
  
Ami smiled. "There are a lot of things like that in a woman's life."  
  
"Sometimes it's a tingly feeling I feel all over my body. Sometimes it's like a  
little flutter in my stomach. Sometimes it's a big flutter in my stomach. And  
sometimes it's a warm feeling all over..."  
  
Ami smiled broadly. "Hmmm...does it happen to happen every time you look  
at a particular person?"  
  
"Look?" Aiyana looked down at her quiche. "I don't even have to look. I just  
think about him and I get the feeling."  
  
"Masaya?"  
  
Aiyana looked down into her quiche and blushed.  
  
"Yes," she said.  
  
"Ah, you've got a crush on him," Ami said, smiling.  
  
"A crush?"  
  
"Yes. It doesn't have anything do with you being pregnant, but it has a little  
to do with you being on Earth. A crush is just a good feeling that you get when you  
think about or see or touch someone you like. Like, as in *like* romantically. But  
not exactly like romantically...'like' is a term that teenagers thought up. It simply  
means that you look at a person of the opposite sex in more than a platonic way...do  
you get what I'm saying?"  
  
Aiyana nodded, still looking down at her quiche.  
  
"Do you want anything to drink?"  
  
"Just water, please."  
  
"Are you going to eat the rest of that?" Ami pointed to the quiche; most of it  
was still there. Aiyana looked at it and shrugged. "I don't know. I feel a little  
sick..."  
  
Ami held up her hands. "Okay," she said. "Just take it slow. The  
combination of the morning sickness and your malnutrition is going to make eating  
hard for a while. I'll kind of plan out an eating schedule for you so your body will get  
used to eating three square meals a day."  
  
"Okay," said Aiyana. She still wanted to ask a question. "Um, Ami..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Is it normal to think about him almost *all* the time? Even in your  
subconcious?"  
  
"When you dream, you mean?" Ami grinned. "That's what you call a *big*  
crush. It's no different and no unhealthier. Let me go get you a glass of water."  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 


	6. That Assassin

"Mommeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Mommy, Ichiro keeps shooting his power pistol at me!"  
  
"Pow! Die, you vixen alien scum! Powpowpowpowpowpowpow!"  
  
"Yameru, Ichiro! Mommeeeee, tell him to leave me alone!"  
  
"I'll save you, fair female mortal! Evil Power Ranger, disappear!"  
  
"But I'm the good guy, Jiro! And Tenrei's an alien!"  
  
"No, I'm not! I'm not playing with you guys! I'm trying to read!" She pointed to the fashion magazine in her hands.  
  
"Aw, you're just copying off of Hitomi."  
  
"No I am not!"  
  
"Uh-huh!"  
  
"Hey, we still have to figure out who's the good guy and who's the bad guy!"  
  
"I'm good, and you're bad, Jiro!"  
  
"Nuh-uh!"  
  
"Uh-huh"  
  
"No I'm not!"  
  
"GET OUT OF HERE, Ichiro AND Jiro!"  
  
Kogusunasu Rei lightly knocked her head against the kitchen table and sighed deeply, frantically running her hands through her deep violet hair. She wished she could wave a magic wand and make everyone in the house disappear.  
  
Her husband, Kogusunasu Sanetoki, came in the kitchen and sympathetically stroked her back. "Burned out?"  
  
"Yes," Rei replied, her head still down on the table.  
  
"Well, that's what you get for having so many children!"  
  
Rei lifted her head and gave Sanetoki a dangerous look. "You helped me make them!"  
  
"Yes, and it was a pleasure, my darling," Sanetoki said playfully, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and then scooting away to avoid her smack.  
  
"Well, do something to shut them up. I'm going to take a bath before Ami and Mitsuru get here." Rei rose from the kitchen table and walked out of the kitchen.  
  
"Mommy--"  
  
"Do not call my name." Sanetoki restrained his laughter against Rei's tense, dead-serious voice. "Do not say the word 'mommy' until--until I say you can again. From this point on, if you have a problem, either work it out yourselves or call Daddy. Do not call Mommy."  
  
"What are you going to do if we do?" Sanetoki heard Ichiro ask curiously.  
  
"I just might kill you, Ichiro," Rei said seriously, and Sanetoki almost choked with laughter as he heard Jiro's frightened gasp.  
  
The next thing he heard was Jiro and Ichiro's footsteps pounding into the kitchen, accompanied by various pieces of Nerf toys clattering to the ground. "Daddy, Mommy said she's going to kill us!"  
  
"Really?" said Sanetoki, very amused.  
  
"She said if we say 'mommy' one more time she'd kill us. Is that legal, Daddy?" Ichiro asked.  
  
"Maybe," said Sanetoki mysteriously. "You're going to have to ask your uncle Sadayoshi next time he comes over here."  
  
Jiro and Ichiro looked at each other with wide eyes, and Sanetoki was saved from bursting into laughter and ruining the mystique when his fourteen-year-old daughter Hitomi walked into the kitchen holding his two-year-old daughter Yuriko.  
  
Sanetoki smiled when he laid eyes on his beautiful daughter. He certainly loved all of his children, but he sometimes couldn't help feeling like Hitomi was his favorite. She was always elegant and demure, and she always acted about five years older than she really was. Added to the fact that she looked about three years older than she was, and was very smart, a lot of people actually thought she was older than she really was. And she looked like a carbon copy of Rei. Hitomi was certainly a help around the house, taking Yuriko off their hands when Sanetoki and Rei were frazzled. Sanetoki was very protective of his oldest daughter, too, and wasn't too sure he liked the fact that Hitomi seemed very interested in a football-playing high school senior who also seemed very interested in her.  
  
"Hi, Daddy." Yuriko, who also looked more like Rei than Sanetoki, was playing with Hitomi's long violet hair and her gold hoop earrings, tangling the two together. "Ow, stop it, Yuri-chan. That hurts. What's wrong with Okaa?"  
  
"Children overload." Sanetoki shook his head. "I told the woman to stop having children, but would she listen? I told her we should have stopped with you or at least Tenrei, but does she listen? Noooooo."  
  
Hitomi grinned as she opened the refrigerator. "Are our aunts and uncles still coming over?"  
  
"Yes. Mitsuru called. Mitsuru says they're trying to find Nanami and Manami. They're hiding from them."  
  
Hitomi smiled as she spread mayonnaise over a piece of bread. She babysat for Nanami and Manami often, and she knew that the two were twin devils. Izumi was one of Hitomi's good friends, although the two were almost total opposites.  
  
Hitomi set Yuriko down and took a bite out of her ham sandwich. Yuriko begged for a piece and Hitomi cut off a small corner. "So are you convinced we don't need a dog?"  
  
Sanetoki smiled sheepishly. He begged like a little boy for a dog, but Rei refused. "We have to feed and keep occupied five children, what do we need a dog for?" She was furious that Sanetoki had infused the idea in seven-year-old Jiro and eight-year-old Ichiro's minds, and they begged too. Hitomi merely said she wasn't feeding and walking it if they did get one, and twelve-year-old Tenrei agreed with her basically because she liked to emulate Hitomi.  
  
The doorbell rang and Ichiro rushed to answer it. "This is the Black Ranger speaking. What people come to disturb this home? If you're part of the Putty Patrol, you shall be destroyed!"  
  
Sanetoki heard wild laughter as he swatted Ichiro away from the door and opened it for Hayashino Makoto and her husband, Hayashino Ieyasu. In tow was their three children, five-year-old Yoshiko, fourteen-year-old Megami, and nineteen-year-old Teruo.  
  
"That kid has some imagination," said Ieyasu, laughing and thumping Sanetoki on the back. "So, what's up?"  
  
"My five children," Sanetoki said good-naturedly. "Rei's upstairs letting Calgon take her away. I'm sure she'll be down in a little while."  
  
Mako laughed. "I know how that goes."  
  
"So do I," Sanetoki replied.  
  
The four Inner Senshi and former Dark Generals and their families were getting together at the Kogusunasu household that day for dinner. It seemed like it was a simple dinner, but in reality they were getting together to discuss the newly seen supposed threat moving across the galaxy rather rapidly. Michiru and Haruka stated they might stop over later, but they weren't sure as they had things to do that day.  
  
"Come in, put down your stuff--what did you bring?" Sanetoki asked confusedly, looking at buckets of stuff in Megami and Teruo's hands.  
  
Ieyasu blushed as Mako laughed. "I was teaching Ieyasu to make potato salad," she said, "and we accidentally made too much. We figured the best place to take it was here, although Teruo could probably eat it all himself." She shot a look at her handsome nineteen-year-old son, who rubbed his stomach in mock hunger. "I figured we could get Masaya to help him."  
  
Sanetoki laughed. All the Senshi knew about Masaya and Teruo's notorious hunger and ostensibly bottomless stomachs. "Who do you think's going to eat more?"  
  
"I've got my money on Masaya," said Ieyasu.  
  
Teruo groaned. "You guys do this every time we get together for a dinner. Yet, you make so much food and complain when we don't eat it all. What do you want us to do?!" he whined.  
  
Mako and Ieyasu laughed.  
  
"Don't say I mind all the potato salad, though," said Sanetoki, eyeing the five Tupperware buckets of potato salad. "Knowing Mako's killer food, we probably won't have much of a hard time eating it all."  
  
Sanetoki surveyed the three Hayashino children. They all seemed placid enough, even five-year-old Yoshiko. Sanetoki sighed. Then again, his five got their energy-ball attitudes from he and Rei, who both had them. Hitomi seemed a rogue, although she must have inherited her mother's soft side.  
  
The doorbell rang again and Sanetoki rushed to the door before one of his 'imaginative' kids got there first. Looking through the peephole, he realized it was Ami, Mitsuru, and their children. Each of the two had a twin in their hands, and a sullen Izumi was standing with them. When he opened the door, Izumi stomped through with a curt hello.  
  
"What's the matter with her?" Sanetoki asked of Mitsuru and Ami.  
  
Ami rolled her eyes. "She knew where these two were all along. She didn't want to tell because she said they had sworn her to secrecy. Secrecy, my eye."  
  
Rei swept down the stairs in a long black caftan with red accents here and there, and black and red earrings in her ears.  
  
"Rei, why do you have to outdo everyone?" asked Makoto. "Yoshiko, get your fingers out of the food and wait till dinnertime!"  
  
"Don't close the door!" called a voice. "We're here!"  
  
It was Minako, rushing up to catch the door before it closed. Masaya was rushing after her. Sadayoshi and Emi were strolling, taking their time to walk up the walk.  
  
Rei smiled as she watched them come up. It was funny how their family was split straight down the middle--Emi and Sadayoshi, and Masaya and Minako matched in personalities, while in looks the two children switched parents. "Where are Usagi and Mamoru?" she asked, checking her watch. The Senshi only called the king and queen Serenity and Endymion when they were on duty.  
  
"They called to say they'd be a little late. Usagi lost something of Mamoru's and he's frantically trying to find it."  
  
"Sounds like Usagi," Minako chuckled.  
  
"Why'd you all bring food? I told you I had it under control," Rei said, turning around in her kitchen to check her three roasting chickens.  
  
"Rei, you cooked only three chickens?" Minako quipped. "You knew we were bringing Masaya, didn't you? Did we tell you about the time Masaya ate the whole chicken I'd thawed for dinner?"  
  
"He popped it in the oven and cooked it for lunch. Cleaned the bones. Had three rolls and six glasses of Coke too," Sadayoshi added.  
  
"Teruo did that once," Makoto said thoughtfully. "He ate all my food while I was cleaning my refrigerator. I had virtually nothing to put back when I was finished."  
  
"Masaya will have to tone down his hunger for once," said Rei. "So will Teruo."  
  
Teruo and Masaya threw up their hands. "Let's leave the kitchen. They're only going to argue over who can eat more."  
  
The parents laughed as their oldest boys follwed the wagon trail out of the kitchen, headed by Yuriko, tooting a kazoo she'd lost and found under the kitchen table. Solemnly, they waited until they thought their kids-- thirteen in all--were out of earshot.  
  
"So, what's been coming up on the satellite computers?" Makoto asked without preamble.  
  
"Nothing," Minako said. "We have no idea what this thing is."  
  
"We've been checking it for three weeks," said Ami. "The same thing comes up every time. We know this thing is moving toward us. But it's not revealing what it is. It has some very high-tech cloaking mechanisms."  
  
The Senshi sighed. "You know," Minako said, "Haruka told me that Michiru feels something connecting the assassin to the UFO."  
  
"I felt the same thing," said Rei. "But I couldn't tell how. You don't think she's from another planet, do you?"  
  
"Nah," said Makoto. "She looks Earthian to me."  
  
"She does to me, too, but there's something uncannily--different about her," Ieyasu said.  
  
"Those eyes--" Sanetoki smiled as he turned to Rei. "Look, the way I see it, those eyes threaten my happily stable family."  
  
Rei smacked him in the back of the head.  
  
"I was only kidding!" Sanetoki said, rubbing the back of his head. "You hit hard! Anyway, what I meant to say was...she's amazingly lovely for such a young woman. Which is worrisome..." Sanetoki's eyes slid towards the doorway.  
  
"Hey, Aunt Rei, where do you keep your diapers?" As if on cue, it was Masaya, his head popped in the kitchen. "Hey, why is everybody so solemn? Why the white face, Ami?" Ami was the only one of the three women that were not his mother he didn't preface with an 'aunt'.  
  
Ami made a cutting motion at her neck, but it was too late. The seven other adults turned to face her. She looked down.  
  
"Oh, that's right. You been assigned to check out the assassin for diseases, haven't you, Ami?" asked Makoto. "What have been the results?"  
  
"Has she told you anything about where's she's from?" Minako asked.  
  
"Do you think maybe she does have something to do with the UFO?" asked Rei.  
  
Ami shook her head. "Well, I don't think she has any sicknesses..." She trailed off and shot a dagger look at Masaya, who grimaced. "And she hasn't told me where she's from." That was true at least. She didn't say where she was from. "We really have to run some more tests."  
  
"More tests," said Minako. "We need to hurry with the tests. She's a dangerous person. As soon as we discern what's wrong with her, we'll have to schedule her trial. She'll be convicted as guilty, of course, but as what we don't know. Attempted murder? Depending on her condition we'll have to decide what to do with her. Serenity's not going to go for execution, but a few years in prison will suit her well--"  
  
"Minako," Ami said softly, "we shouldn't put her in prison."  
  
Rei, Minako, and Makoto whirled to face Ami. "What?!"  
  
"I said, we shouldn't put her in prison," Ami said, drawing herself up. "She's been through so much. If you only knew..." Ami sighed. "You know I can't tell you guys all of that."  
  
"Ami, it's important!" Minako exclaimed. "What is up with you and my son these days?! You'd stake the queen's life on some girl's security?!"  
  
"Minako," said Mitsuru warningly, placing a protective arm around his wife's slumping shoulders, "through the years I've learned to trust my wife's judgment. You've known her much longer than I have; I think you should have learned that, too."  
  
Minako snapped her mouth shut fast, but the tension in the air could still be cut with a knife. Makoto and Rei exchanged a glance.  
  
"Um...Aunt Rei, the diapers?"  
  
"They're under the upstairs bathroom sink," Rei replied, not taking her eyes off of Ami, who was staring at the ground.  
  
"Thank you." Masaya gratefully dashed from the kitchen.  
  
"Look, let's eat," Makoto said, gesturing to the food. "It's going to get cold."

* * *

"So, Masaya, aren't you doctoring on that assassin?" Teruo asked Masaya after dinner. The two boys were best friends, despite their age difference of five years. Teruo idolized the older man and often peppered their conversations with endless questions, fueled by his very inquisitive nature.  
  
"I'm assisting Ami. The girl is seventeen; a pediatrician wouldn't help her much." Masaya was gently bouncing Yuriko up and down on his leg.  
  
"Oh. So?"  
  
"So, what?"  
  
"So, what does she look like? My dad said she's gorgeous." He raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I guess she is," said Masaya, averting his eyes.  
  
"You guess? Come on, Masaya, you're so transparent. You like her, don't you?"  
  
Masaya didn't answer Teruo's question; instead he stared down at his leg and gurgled to Yuriko, who was having a lot of fun bouncing on his leg. He tickled her tummy, and she laughed and clapped her hands.  
  
"You do. You do like her." Teruo smiled, leaning forwards excitedly. He and Masaya had the same tastes when it came to girls. "What does she look like?"  
  
"She's got long, dark hair and pretty blue eyes. She's very cute," he admitted.  
  
"Do you like her? For real?"  
  
"Yes..." Masaya looked up at Teruo. "Do I have a choice? I'm assissting Ami as a doctor."  
  
"Not like that, you know what I'm talking about, you moron...what's wrong with her?"  
  
"I can't tell you. She already bawled me out for telling Ami before. And believe me, you don't want to get her angry."  
  
Teruo laughed. "What'd she do?"  
  
"Her eyes flash from her normal blue to this fiery violet, and she whipped a sword to my neck. But that was one of her off days."  
  
Teruo burst into laughter. "I guess you've got a lot on your hands with that assassin, don't you, Masaya?"  
  
"Yes, I think you're right."---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------  
  
AN: Name time! The girl children of the Senshi are the ones whose names matter the most, really.  
  
Venus - Koikokoro Emi - beauty of awakening love  
  
Mars - Kogasunasu Hitomi - scorching eyes  
  
Jupiter - Hayashino Megami - goddess of the forest  
  
Mercury - Amesuino Izumi - fountain of raiwater  
  
By the way, of the Senshi's fifteen children, Masaya is the oldest, followed by Teruo. Then come Hitomi, Emi, Megami, Izumi, and Usa-chan (the former Chibimoon) in that order, although they are quite close in age. Tenrei comes next, then Ichiro, Jiro, Yoshiko, Nanami and Manami (who are twins), and finally Yuriko. 


	7. A Most Excellent Empress

**Chapter Seven – A Most Excellent Empress**  
  
"Aiyana...wake up."  
  
Aiyana opened her eyes to see Masaya's gray-blue eyes staring into her own. She felt her heart flutter and immediately sat up to avoid the icy gaze. "I'm awake."  
  
"Good. You need some exercise."  
  
"Exercise?" Aiyana squeaked.  
  
"Yes. You've been laying here in this bed for nearly three weeks. You're almost three months pregnant; you and that baby need some exercise." He watched as she sat up. "Look at how pale you are."  
  
"I'm always pale," Aiyana said with a faint smile. "That's my complexion."  
  
"Yes--but look!" He held Aiyana's arm up to the light. Her skin was fairly transparent. "That's too pale, Aiyana. You're malnourished and you need some exercise; that's a bad combination. Look, I brought you some breakfast."  
  
Aiyana looked down to see what Masaya brought. "What is this?"  
  
"Cold cereal. Lucky Charms. You need a burst of sugar this morning. We're going to take a run around the palace."  
  
"You think they'll let me?"  
  
"Aiyana, you've been here for three weeks and you've only attempted to murder three people--"  
  
"Three?"  
  
"The queen, the king, and me."  
  
"You?" Aiyana laughed. "Masaya, if I had wanted to kill you, I would have. You and I would both be dead."  
  
Masaya swallowed audibly and Aiyana laughed again. Her laugh sounded cold this morning, but that might have only been because she was still just waking up. I guess this is one of those cranky days, he thought with a sigh.  
  
"You still have a little scar, right there," she said, pointing. She reached forward and touched it. Masaya felt a warm, buzzing feeling wash over him, and Aiyana drew back her finger. "There, it's gone."  
  
Masaya felt his neck. "Thanks."  
  
"Don't thank me. I put it there."  
  
Masaya laughed. "Eat your cereal, girl, then tell me to get out so you can get dressed."  
  
Aiyana hungrily ate the cereal. "Wow, you worked up an appetite all of a sudden."  
  
"It's not me, it's her," Aiyana said, pointing to her stomach. "Or him."  
  
"Excuses, excuses. You like cold potato salad?"  
  
"What does it do?"  
  
"It's food. We had some for dinner last night and there was a lot left over. We had too much. You could have it for lunch if you like."  
  
"Did you make it?"  
  
Masaya smiled. "So you liked my quiche?"  
  
"Yes, very much. It was very good; I'd never had anything like it before."  
  
"Thanks. But I didn't make the potato salad. My aunt Mako and my uncle Ieyasu did."  
  
"Ami is your aunt, too?"  
  
"Well, I call her my aunt. But she really isn't, anymore than Mako is my aunt or Ieyasu is my uncle. They're just close to my family."  
  
Aiyana stared down at her food. "I don't have any family."  
  
"I'm sure you do somewhere. Where do you think you came from?"  
  
"I don't have a family," Aiyana said. "Anymore. They're both dead. My parents, I mean."  
  
"Oh." Masaya looked at Aiyana intently. Her eyes were cast down now.  
  
"You can get out now," she added, smiling faintly.  
  
Masaya obliged and waited patiently outside the door as Aiyana dressed into the clothes he'd brought her. They were a loose pair of sweatpants and an oversized shirt. Masaya had gotten them from Ami, who was only a bit bigger than Aiyana, although shorter--by about five inches. But Aiyana was a very tall girl; she was about five feet seven inches.  
  
"You can come back in." When he did, he looked her up and down. She was standing, although leaning unsteadily against the night table.  
  
"You're so damn skinny," he said, chuckling to let her know he was only kidding, and wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. "Look at you, you can barely walk. I'm going to walk a few feet with you, but I'm going to let you go. Your muscles must have atrophied for some strange reason. Weren't you active in the empire?"  
  
"Very active. We always had outside training. I have no explanation for why I'm so wobbly now."  
  
"Neither do I, but for the reason that you're pregnant and you have been sitting in that little white hospital bed for three weeks."  
  
Aiyana giggled, half from her next statement and half from the fact that Masaya's arm was around her waist. "Little is right. I haven't slept in a twin bed in a long time."  
  
Masaya laughed. "You mean your barracks didn't have twin beds?"  
  
"Well..." Aiyana turned red. "In my barracks, only the First Delta got their own bed. So up until I was promoted..."  
  
"You were sleeping with men?!!" Masaya forgot that he was supposed to be steadying Aiyana, and whipped around, turning to look at her. "Someone who looks like you was sharing a bed with men in the dark?!!"  
  
Aiyana tried to keep her wobbly balance for as long as possible. "Well, it wasn't my fault..." She finally went crashing to the floor.  
  
"Oops, I'm sorry," Masaya apologized, but instead of helping her up he sat down besides her. "Are you okay? I wasn't angry at you, don't get me wrong; I knew it wasn't any of your fault. I mean, it was so dumb! They were already angry at you, didn't they think? And besides...Aiyana, that was dumb, on their part."  
  
"Masaya," Aiyana said with a smile, "it's over. I'm not there anymore, remember?"  
  
"You know what you need?" Masaya said with a faint smile. "A good lawyer. You can apply for asylum here in the Moon Kingdom. That's when someone gets to live here without going through naturalization because they could be harmed if they went home. I mean, you could seriously be hurt going back there. Aiyana--" Masaya sighed. "I wouldn't want you to go back to your empire. You could lose your baby, Aiyana."  
  
"I wouldn't want to do that," Aiyana said thoughtfully. "But I could never stay here. Your people would never accept me, Masaya. I'm three hundred times different. Besides, I tried to kill your rulers! I don't think the people here would be very comfortable with that idea."  
  
"You're no different than any of us," Masaya argued. "Besides the fact that your skin is a bit paler and your eyes are a little different--they're so large and intense, they're gorgeous--you look enough like a human. And in time, the assassination attempt will fade from people's minds."  
  
"But where would I live, Masaya? How would I eat? Where would I work? I'm only seventeen, and on your planet I believe that makes me a minor."  
  
"You could go to school. You could live in the palace."  
  
Aiyana laughed, a hard, cold, bitter laugh. "You overestimate the kindness of your people. Not everyone is like you, Masaya, so ready to forgive and so eager to make friends. I would get death threats every day. People would try to hurt me; they'd jeer at me when they saw me and persecute me. I know that just from living with those who didn't like me even though I never did anything; what would they do to someone they didn't like who did do something?"  
  
"Humans are different from those--those barbaric people up there, Aiyana. They're different; they're forgiving, they're scrupulous--"  
  
"Are you trying to say the people I lived with weren't?!" Aiyana exploded. "They were just like your people, Masaya. The ones I lived with were a world apart. The people there were wonderful, just like they are here! They had morals and values, just like humans! They just found themselves crushed, opressed by a horrible system of rulers who enslaved them at work camps and their unbearable military camps. Some of them loved it, but most hated it! The work was too hard; they had sixteen and seventeen hour days. Conditions in the cities went from okay to worse; things went horrible--"  
  
Suddenly, Aiyana's eyes went dull; her shoulders slumped, and she dropped to the ground.  
  
"Aiyana?" Masaya felt instant remorse for his harsh words. He peered over Aiyana's face and gently put his hands on her shoulders.  
  
"Whoa," said Aiyana. "I--kind of lost myself--a little. I've...never felt so..." She drooped back into Masaya's arms.  
  
"Come on, let's get you into some fresh air," Masaya groaned, helping her up and supporting her outside.

* * *

"Tamashiiro, how many times do I have to ask you before you give me a satisfactory answer?"  
  
"As many as you want, Otou-sama. I already told you that I didn't know where she disappeared to."  
  
Emperor Omega gave his son a cool look. He'd asked him a million times where the beautiful young female Delta was, but he kept insisting he hadn't heard from her.  
  
"You were the Deltas' leader. You're telling me that you didn't know where she was? She's been gone for two ikkagetsu, three jidai, and sixteen jikoku."  
  
Emperor Omega had it down to the jikoku? That, plus the impatient and annoyed tapping of the Emperor's pen against the desk, was making Tamashiiro very nervous. What would his father say if he knew that he had...  
  
Tamashiiro gave a loud, audible gulp. His father would kill him if he knew he had raped the canon of the military. That might be why Aiyana hadn't come back. Was she afraid of him? Or was she really dead?  
  
Tamashiiro shifted uncomfortably as another thought entered his brain, the one that had haunted him for the longest time. What if...his seed...inside Aiyana...when the dark thought had been entered into his mind, he hadn't thought of any consequences. He had just quickly done what he was told. His mind was too clouded with malicious thoughts to put a condom on or shove a contraceptive down her throat. Now he might regret it.  
  
He didn't want a child! That would only expose his deed to the entire empire. He might...he might be severely punished. Even moved out of his coveted position as prince. Or worse...his father might make him marry Aiyana.  
  
That might not be too bad, Tamashiiro thought. At least he'd have control over that immeasurable power. And her. His haunting visions wouldn't come back anymore, because he'd have her as his own. She even...she even felt good to him. Her skin was so soft, and she was so tiny and fragile- feeling...while he was...he couldn't help but have the nagging feeling at the back of his mind that he should kiss away her pain and apologize a thousand times over, comforting her in a close embrace.  
  
He violently shook his head. Masaka! He would never...but if his father made him, would he? He would. Embarrassedly, he remembered the pleasure he had felt...  
  
It made him feel sick inside. He was so dirty! How could he have been so cruel?  
  
The very thought of remorse made him incensed again. If Aiyana were back, he'd do it again.  
  
No, he wouldn't. He'd make sure it were consensual...  
  
"Tamashiiro, what is wrong with you?" His father was staring at him in confusion and anger. The emperor was actually a lot nicer than most would think, but he was strict and got angry when things were done inefficiently.  
  
"Sorry, Otou-sama."  
  
"She is an Andromedan, isn't she?" When Tamashiiro nodded, the emperor smiled. "It's hard to imagine those people could produce such a beautiful warrior, isn't it? But most of them are very intelligent, as she is. She looks different from them, somehow. What is her name again?"  
  
"Aiyana Khalidah."  
  
"That's right. It's like music. She would make a most excellent empress." The emperor turned back to his son and smiled faintly. "An excellent wife."  
  
Tamashiiro said nothing, just stared at his father reproachfully, and he laughed.  
  
"The look on your face is priceless," Emperor Omega said. "She is very quiet, isn't she?"  
  
"Hai."  
  
"Why is she so quiet, Tamashiiro?"  
  
"I don't know!"  
  
"Hmm, I wonder. You Deltas accepted her rather smoothly. Maybe she went through some things when she was younger? But she was certainly warrior material. She was...efficient. Quick. I've seen her fight. Have you?"  
  
"Yes. She is very quick, and witty, and strong. She saved my life," he said with a wry smile. He'd never expected to tell his father this.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes. At Epsilon level I almost fell into a gorge and snapped my ankle. She caught me, pulled me back up, and set and splinted the bone." Perhaps his father would be satisfied with his story and change the subject.  
  
"Jesus, how did she do that? With help, right?"  
  
"No. Single-handedly."  
  
"Sheez." Emperor Omega. "I want her found." Emperor Omega's face took on a teasing look. "And married to you," he added, half-seriously.  
  
"That shouldn't be very hard, father...you see, when the scientists took her in in Andromeda, they placed a tracking unit inside her. She shouldn't be very hard to find once we get close enough to Earth."  
  
King Endymion took a deep breath and sat in front of his desk, pulling out a quill pen and a piece of paper. He was emotionally exhausted but he absolutely had to write this letter.  
  
He and his wife were taking a stroll around the palace grounds when he had seen Dr. Koikokoro Masaya taking the young assassin on a jog. She looked much more healthy than she looked before, and she was actually...laughing. And smiling. King Endymion doubted she had any illnesses...something Ami was doing was prolonging any trial and conviction, but King Endymion was glad that it had been prolonged.  
  
That girl...she was the one. He was almost positive of that. She had the same eyes as he, but she looked almost exactly like her in every other respect. She was the chosen one...and she was his...  
  
He quickly took out a bottle of ink and dipped his pen. Then he began to write, quickly and frantically.  
  
_I believe...I have found her. She has appeared at our palace almost as a miracle. She is beautiful...she looks very much like you. Just as you predicted. But she has my eyes.  
  
She tried to kill the two of us. She was sent as an assassin, either by some focal organization or some crazy impulse in her mind. But she is here, and she is living in the hospital at this moment. I think that she has quite a crush on Masaya, Minako's son.  
  
She looks almost exactly like the pictures you have sent me of her...I cannot believe it. Perhaps she did not run away, but was kidnapped...and the people who kidnapped her may have forced her to do this deed. It's very strange, how things work out. It is probably destiny she is back here, and now things will come out. I already cannot help looking at her with love in my eyes.  
  
She is mine...she is beautiful, and I cannot believe I am seeing her in person, with my own two eyes! It's been a long seventeen years, but here she is. Even my guardians are saying that she is very attractive. This is why I am worried...I suspect that Masaya likes her, too. But they are treating her very well, although Minako is raising all hell trying to get her on trial and executed. Ami is staying very quiet--she is her doctor, but she is not saying anything. Makoto, I believe, is not sure what to do, and although Rei is usually inclined to go with Minako, I don't believe she is very active in with this.  
  
What scares me the most, however,, is what your comrades are doing: Haruka and Michiru. Haruka is very murderous towards her, and Michiru is beginning to feel things and piece them together...she might remember, and she will certainly confront me.  
  
Please write me back as soon as you read this letter. It is very important. I have no idea what to do--but I must save Keiko's life.  
_  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------


	8. Piece Together The Truth

Eight 

**Piece Together The Truth**

Aiyana stood in front of the full-length mirror in the hospital room. She was rather perturbed--her pants wouldn't fit over her stomach anymore.  
  
She sighed and dropped them to the floor just as the door to her hospital room swung open.  
  
"Aiyana..."  
  
Aiyana stood stock-still, not even turning around, just knowing that Masaya could see all of her undressed body--front and back--in the mirror in front of her.  
  
"I'm sorry...let's do this over." After what had seemed like an eternity of Masaya's eyes roaming all over her body, taking in every nearly perfectly formed detail, he executed a sharp military turn and walked out of the room.  
  
Aiyana tried hard to swallow back her tears of embarrassment and tried to slow her rapidly pounding heart, but to no avail. A tear rolled down her cheek. It might have seemed strange...but she had reason to fear a man, any man, walking in on her. Even as sweet as Masaya was, it was too close, too familiar...  
  
Aiyana remembered a day that she had the plushy Delta barracks to herself. She was the Fifth Delta then. The other Deltas had gone to some social function, but she had chosen to stay behind. Once alone she took a long, hot bath...when she had climbed out, the Fourth Delta accidentally walked in.  
  
It was a true accident, unlike the many other occasions in which the Deltas had degraded her. She had dried herself off, instinctively looked around, and then had let her towel fall around her feet--only to hear an unearthly gasp. She didn't even have to turn around to know who it was.  
  
She had stared down at the floor, and he hadn't moved either. His eyes were fixated on her, trailing up and down and all around her figure. Suddenly his hand had reached out...his fingers lightly grazed her shoulder, then the fingers of his other hand on her other shoulder. His hands had spread down her front.  
  
She hadn't done anything, just stood there, while the Fourth Delta had wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close to himself. Then, just as quickly as he had come, he fled, leaving Aiyana to slink to the floor of of the bathroom, shuddering.  
  
Aiyana was so deep in thought that she had completely forgotten where she was, that is, until Masaya's strong knock came from the other side of the door. It made her jump practically three feet in the air. She settled back down on the ground, shaking.  
  
"Aiyana? Are you dressed yet?" he asked in a concerned voice.  
  
Aiyana pulled the jeans back up to her waist, trying in vain to zip them up, and quickly put a large pink shirt on and was dismayed to see a little of her waist poking through. She was three months and a week pregnant. "Yes."  
  
The door swung open and Masaya walked back in, red-faced and sputtering. "I am so sorry I did that," he said. "You were so quiet, I thought you might have been asleep..."  
  
"It is fine."  
  
"No, it's not. I promise, I'll knock from now on." Masaya shook his head as if to shake it of the entire incident and smiled one of those heart-rending smiles. "So, what was the problem?"  
  
"My pants don't fit anymore."  
  
Masaya stared at her stomach and burst into laughter. "Well, I'd quite forgotten about that. Naturally you'd begin to grow out of those clothes Ami gave you. You need some maternity clothes and I'm afraid all of our mothers have given them away. I mean, my four aunts. It's been two years-- three, actually--since anyone has had to wear any, since little Yuriko's two years old--wait, she's almost three...anyway, it doesn't matter. Those weren't even Ami's clothes. She's way too short for you to fit any of her clothes and I think those were clothes my Aunt Set had left here for when she's on earth. Anyway, I'm babbling."  
  
"Yes. You are."  
  
Her blunt answer made him laugh again. "I'll ask Ami to pick you up some maternity clothes. You have a right to get some free as long as you're here."  
  
"No, I don't. I don't have any rights. I committed a crime. I'm in prison. Prisoners don't have any rights."  
  
"You're not in prison. You're hospitalized. And you have rights. Including the right to clothes that don't squeeze the stuffing out of your stomach...can you feel it kicking yet?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"The baby." His cobalt eyes were once again fixed on hers in the stare that made her want to blush furiously.  
  
She swallowed her embarrassment and averted her eyes to her own protuberant stomach. "No."  
  
"Oh." His energy seemed to drain out of him, and Aiyana saw for the first time that he was anticipating this...he was very drawn into this issue with her and her baby. But why?  
  
"I wonder whether it's a girl or a boy." He sighed and laughed at himself. "Well? What would you prefer?"  
  
"A girl...or a boy...I don't know." Aiyana hadn't thought about it. She really hadn't thought about having the baby at all. All she had known is that she was pregnant...she was cursed with her illegitimate pregnancy, mother to the child of the Second Delta. Her parents, if alive, would have cried themselves to death if they knew. The thought made a sob catch in her own throat.  
  
She swallowed it and turned to Masaya. He seemed to know what she was thinking, at least to a certain extent, because his eyes were friendly and sympathetic. They were like an extension of himself, and they seemed to reach out to touch Aiyana, encumber her in a warm embrace.  
  
She turned away, smiling, and said, "I haven't really dwelt too much on what I was going to have to face up to...all I thought about was that I was pregnant. I knew I wanted to have the child, didn't want an abortion..."  
  
"NO!" Masaya said vehemently, and clapped a hand over his mouth. "Ah, kami-sama. I didn't meant to exclaim like that...it's just that I love children." He smiled sheepishly. "I guess you could tell that, since I'm a pediatrician."  
  
"Ami says you're a good one."  
  
"Yeah, whatever."  
  
"It was the healing."  
  
"What?"  
  
"The day I healed your scar." Aiyana turned back to Masaya. "That's why I collapsed. I forgot that I get weak after it happens. It just took a little longer to kick in for once."  
  
Masaya nodded, staring at Aiyana thoughtfully. He sat down in the chair, but she remained standing. Since the day they had first went jogging, they had decided to continue every day, and she was already beginning to look healthier and stronger. She could stand up alone, although her complexion sometimes went pale when she did so. And she had developed an appetite--a meager one, but one that was still there, and much better than some elixir of life forcing her not to eat or sleep.  
  
"About your question, Masaya..."  
  
He looked up.  
  
She smiled a little, blushing. "I think maybe...I want a girl."  
  
"There it is."  
  
Sailor Mercury pointed to a small blinking blip on the computer screen. It was still an unidentified object, floating softly across the skies of the Milky Way Galaxy. It had reached the halfway mark across the Milky Way. Although the object was still moving rather slowly across the skies in terms of space, it was moving steadily, getting closer every day.  
  
"A satellite, maybe?" Sailor Jupiter said, staring at the screen.  
  
"That's no satellite," Sailor Uranus said. "Not at that speed. It would move a bit faster. Besides, satellites float a bit more...this is moving with a definite destination in mind, it seems."  
  
"Well, how would we know?" Sailor Mars said. "After all, it would be an alien craft. It might move a little differently from our satellites."  
  
"Any satellite would move like that, Rei-chan," Sailor Mercury said. "They explore, look for information. This thing is from outside the galaxy, and it isn't stopping to look at anything closely. It's definitely moving towards something...on our side of the galaxy."  
  
The other Senshi fell quiet and thought a minute.  
  
"Are you still getting those feelings about the assassin being connected to that UFO, Michiru-san?" Sailor Venus asked Sailor Neptune.  
  
"It isn't so much a feeling as a flash of a vision in front of my eyes, telling me that...that there's something going on between the two that is a link. But it could mean nothing, could be a false instinct...like the flash I got of..."  
  
The Inner Senshi turned to her, but she cut off again, like she had the night of the assassin's first attack.  
  
"Of what?" Sailor Jupiter asked.  
  
Sailor Neptune shook her head. "Never mind."  
  
Sailor Venus sighed. "If you don't tell us these gut instincts you have, Sailor Neptune, we will never figure out this mystery behind the girl and the UFO and whether or not they are connected. What is it with the secrecy lately?"  
  
Sailor Neptune shook her head. The flashes of Hotaru she was seeing she wanted to keep between her and Sailor Uranus right now. Ever since the young woman's disappearance, Sailor Neptune had felt an aching gap in her heart...if there was some way that this girl was the key to closing the gap, she didn't want the Inner Senshi to get in her way.  
  
"I mean, doesn't Serenity...Usagi-chan...matter to you any? Neptune? Mercury?"  
  
"Of course Usagi-chan matters to me, Rei-chan," Sailor Mercury said, narrowing her eyes angrily at Venus. "I love Usagi-chan just as you do--as a sister. I would never do anything to hurt her."  
  
"And I feel loyalty to Queen Serenity as well," Sailor Neptune said.  
  
"So then what's this big wishy-washy phase that we're all going through? Mercury and Neptune are clamming up, and everyone else seems unsure about what to do or what to say. We've been at each other's throats for weeks since seeing this thing. It's been getting us all jittery. We act as if we've never had an intergalactic threat before!"  
  
"Venus," said Sailor Jupiter, "that was different. We were younger then. We didn't have families--families that are dependent on us, waiting for us when we return from battle. We're so out of practice..."  
  
"Crystal Tokyo has had a peace so long that we've lost our fighting ethic," Sailor Mercury continued. "When's the last time we had a threat? When we were all sixteen, and Galaxia came. Now we're all over one thousand years old. We haven't fought in so long, Venus."  
  
"We're still Sailor Senshi," Sailor Venus insisted.  
  
"She's right," Sailor Mars chimed. "Although we haven't fought in long, we have our powers and our instincts. After all, when the Silver Millennium ended, we were all reborn in new bodies with new families. There was a period of years. And yet, we found it within ourselves to fight once again."  
  
"And protect our queen," Sailor Uranus added. "That is the most important thing--that Serenity lives. She has always been the most important thing to us, and our lives have always been devoted to protecting her. That is still our main objective. That is what we have to do."  
  
To that, all the Senshi could agree.  
  
"How's our progress?"  
  
The Eta pilot turned around. Smirking, he gave the Delta officer a thumbs-up sign.  
  
"Everything is going according to schedule, Delta Hojo. It seems that these aliens have discovered our presence in their skies, but they have yet to figure out exactly who and what we are. They still think that we are an artificial satellite of some sort, although some are beginning to speculate otherwise. But none of them have yet figured out our origin."  
  
"Good." First Delta Hojo Junichi smiled. "Everything must go smoothly, as it is now. The prince will be quite pleased with our progress." He looked back at the screen. "So we're not losing sight of our target?"  
  
Another Eta, the co-pilot, turned and looked at Delta Hojo as if he couldn't possibly be talking about his flight crew. The Etas were the pilots and aircraft maneuvers of the Omega Army, and they happened to be quite arrogant, even though Delta Hojo had three levels of seniority over them.  
  
"Of course not," the co-pilot said. "It's quite clear. A small blue planet, nto too far away in this galaxy. About halfway across one one of the outer lashes of the spiral."  
  
"Of course, the trail is not very hard to follow with the tracking serum within that girl there," the Eta pilot said, smiling again as he squinted at the display. "It leads us right to the planet, without veering off course."  
  
"Yes." Delta Hojo rubbed his hands together. The other men, three of the other Deltas, were in the back lodge. The four men were ready to do what they had to do on this blue planet. "It will not be very hard at all to do what we were sent to do. The creatures do not seem to be very bright on this planet called...Earth."  
  
"Aiyana?"  
  
Aiyana turned her eyes to meet Masaya's. He was staring at her, while she was laying on her back in the hospital bed. It was aching, a dull and yet agonizing pain that was unlike anything she had ever felt before. She suspected it was the fault of the small life-form growing inside of her stomach, which was slowly poking out of her clothes in what was to her a rather ungainly manner--which was funny for Aiyana, since she never had cared about her appearance before.  
  
_Then again_, she thought, feeling the urge to smile Masaya's way, _I never had a real reason._  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Remember the first day we had gone jogging, and I said that you could file for asylum on Earth?"  
  
"Yes." How could she forget? Ever since Masaya had said the words, she had been thinking about the possibility.  
  
How tantalizing the prospect. She wouldn't ever have to go back to the Omega Star Empire, which had always been a dark, miserable place for her, as far back as she could remember. Even for the short time--two months and a week now--that she had been on Earth, she had been enjoying her time here...as much as a pregnant seventeen-year-old with malnutrition and back pains could enjoy a new planet. She felt a connection with the planet itselt that she couldn't explain, just felt...  
  
She'd first noticed it the first time they'd gone jogging. She'd tripped and fallen, flat on her face, only catching herself from the pain of slamming herself into the ground too hard by throwing her hands out at the very last moment. But when her hands touched the ground, she felt this jolt of an electricity-like feeling that kept her in push-up position, face inches from the ground, saved from the pain and humiliation of breaking her nose or something similar. Heat seemed to radiate from the very core of the planet, warming her cold body--whipped by the sharp April wind. She had picked herself up feeling very strangely, staring down at the place she had fallen. The picture of the space had implemented itself in her mind very hard, and she found herself wondering whether she was crazy or not for remembering a square patch of grass.  
  
"What were you talking about, when you said something about your people?" Masaya continued, jilting Aiyana from her thoughts. "You said that your people were opressed, working long hours. You seemed really passionate about it...until you collapsed."  
  
Aiyana sighed. Of course, the fantasy vision of her living on Earth would never work. She was too different from these people...they were so unlike her. They would never accept her into their society, their world.  
  
"My world..." Her voice trailed off as she stared at the ceiling, her thoughts and visions travelling back to another world, very far away from this one, and very different. "It's so different from here, Masaya."  
  
"Where is it?"  
  
"At the end of the galaxy," Aiyana replied. "Very far, nearly one hundred thousand light-years...all the way across the Milky Way. Almost out of it.  
  
"A few years ago, the small system was found by a benefactor from outside the galaxy, but still not very far away. The system was fairly falling apart, and the logistics were going down...the benefactor, a smaller system of two planets, offered to help the bigger system out with their government plan. They fairly took over and have been revolutionizing the bigger system. The bigger system is known as the Andromeda system, and the smaller, the Alpha System. The two planets there are known as Centauri and Proximi. The planets in the Andromeda system are Almach, Mirach, Alpheratz, Caph, Schedar, and the central planet, Ethiopia."  
  
"They're both smaller than our system," Masaya noted.  
  
"Yes. The Alpha system set up a new government, and it's rulers were the leaders. They insisted that when other planets saw our beautiful empire set up so nicely, they would become jealous and want to break us apart, so they roused up a large military and divided us into different sections in a hierarchy. The Deltas, the caste I was in, was the highest military caste, right under the aristocracy. The military is considered the greatest honor for any normal citizen of the empire and they are elevated even above the common people."  
  
"So...your whole government system was created because some empire from the far reaches of space decided to help you set up a proper system of government?" Masaya raised an eyebrow, leaning forward. "That doesn't sound too realistic. If it were as idyllic as that, then why did you have that outburst about people being worked to death in a sort of economic depression? The benefactor wouldn't have done that to a people they were striving to help."  
  
"True. I guess it was because a few weeks ago, a Rho class member barged into the Beta Council and...well, you see, Rho class members are those who basically live off of the government's help. The Beta Council, which is a legislative body for the empire, doles the money out to them. Well, this Rho class member somehow made it past the Epsilon guard that stands around the Beta Alcazar and barged into a Beta meeting, where the Betas were reading out statistics to the Deltas...it was boring...anyway, the Rho member was babbling some of the things that I said that day..."  
  
"And they stuck out in your mind?" Masaya said.  
  
"Well..." Aiyana shifted uncomfortably. "Well, of course the things she was saying weren't true--"  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"The Omega Empire isn't like that," Aiyana insisted.  
  
"Have you ever lived in the civilian class of your empire?"  
  
"Yes," Aiyana said. "They have my history on file in the Beta Alcazar's archives. I did used to live in the civilian class, the highest one, Lambda. My father was a Lambda scientist and my mother, a university professor. Their lives were devoted to science."  
  
"Which is why you agreed to being the guinea pig to your empire's scientific experiments with these elixirs."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"But you don't remember any of this, do you?"  
  
Aiyana turned to Masaya, her eyes flashing that violet again. But they were not angry--rather, they were troubled, disturbed. "What makes you think that?"  
  
"You say the alca-whatever has your history on file, and you didn't give any particular details about your parents. Besides, before when you told me you had lost them both, your eyes...didn't seem to show any emotion."  
  
Aiyana looked up. "I loved my parents," she said sharply.  
  
"How can you know that, if you don't remember them?" Masaya asked.  
  
"I loved them," she said, eyes flashing again. "I know that much, at least. I can feel that."  
  
"But see, look at it this way...the empire knew that, being alone at the age of...you must have been younger...you would definitely feel loyalty to your parents. You don't remember anything about them. Don't you think that, perhaps, they might have...tweaked...your history a little bit to make you a bit more open to the military life and the sciences?" He paused, then added sarcastically, "Let me guess. You had an older brother in the military, too. A fighter pilot who eventually got promoted to the level you're at now. And he died on a covert mission."  
  
"How did you know that?" Aiyana said, eyes widening.  
  
Masaya shook his head sadly. It was beginning to come together...this poor misguided girl had been used by this empire that she held in such high esteem. They had made up a history for her out of the blue to make her feel more devotion to their military. They'd lied to her!  
  
"You've always wanted to fly," he answered simply. "They wanted you to want to fly."  
  
Aiyana's eyes were turned downwards again, but Masaya could tell--from past experience--that tears were collecting in her eyes. She was a smart girl, and she was beginning to piece together the truth as well.  
  
"Aiyana..."  
  
"Please," Aiyana said, holding her hand up. "Please, just leave me alone...please go away."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------


	9. Malpractice Lawsuit

Chapter Nine - Malpractice Lawsuit  
  
***  
  
"What kind of colors do you think she'd like to wear, Masaya?"  
  
Masaya didn't answer Ami as she headed around the corner of the maternity section of the department store. Aiyana couldn't even attempt to squeeze into any of the clothes his "aunt" Setsuna had left behind for her earth travels, so Ami had taken a small allowance from the hospital's account to get her a few maternity items.  
  
"Masaya? Are you listening?"  
  
Actually, he wasn't. He was thinking about Aiyana. The poor young woman. She'd been lied to and then beaten in the barbaric system she'd pledged her total allegiance to...and she still only half-believed the truth about her life and her history. The story was so sad...and here she comes to Earth, pregnant and alone. For goodness' sake, she'd come to Earth pregnant! She'd fought with swords with his uncles, his own father, when she was pregnant! He remembered she'd stabbed his father in the stomach. What if the roles had been reversed? He couldn't even begin to think about what could have happened to the baby…and Aiyana, for that matter.  
  
He was sure that if the Senshi knew the truth, they would want to let her go. They wouldn't want to hurt her. Just yesterday he had had one of those dreaded conversations with his mother.  
  
"You two haven't found anymore information on that assassin yet, have you?" she'd asked while washing dishes after dinner one night.  
  
"No..." Masaya hated lying to his parents, because he wasn't any good at it, but he managed to pull it off by not looking at his mother.  
  
"Ami-chan hasn't been volunteering any information. And you..." She had dried her hands and turned off the faucet. "You aren't saying anything either. You two aren't hiding anything, are you?"  
  
Masaya looked as if he was surprised his mother would even accuse him and her almost-sister of going into conspiracy together. "Why would we hide anything from you, Okaa?" he'd said. "I mean, Aunt Ami loves the queen as much as you do. And I wouldn't hold anything back from you."  
  
Minako had given her son the once-over, then narrowed her eyes. "Just see that you don't," she'd said in a low voice, then turned back to cleaning her kitchen.  
  
Masaya was brought back to reality upon the realization that Ami had disappeared. He searched until he found a blue head bobbing behind one of the racks. He sauntered over to where Ami was. Coming shopping with her, even for Aiyana's clothes, hadn't been on the top of his list today, but she had persuaded him to come using a guilt trip. "Don't you care about your patients at all, Masaya?" Masaya had just now realized he could have pointed out that Aiyana wasn't really his patient, but he didn't want to admit that quite yet, so he'd kept quiet and just come along.  
  
"Ami-san," he started, "why can't we tell the others about Aiyana's condition?"  
  
"She doesn't want us to, Masaya-kun," Ami said. "We're bound to uphold a moral code when doctors. Aiyana doesn't want us to reveal that information to anyone."  
  
"But..." Masaya shook his head. "It might help clear the situation. I mean, if they knew the things that she went through...they might not, you know, what to hurt her anymore. They're women like you, they're sensitive to that kind of stuff."  
  
"Masaya, not everyone is as willing to trust and believe as you and I," Ami said, lowering her voice and turning to her apprentice. "Look. Your mother is straight bent on killing Aiyana, and you know it. If your mother were to hear things like that, I don't think she's above twisting the story a bit."  
  
"Ami!" Masaya said scoldingly. "My mother wouldn't do that."  
  
"Oh, you think?" Ami raised an eyebrow. "Masaya, I'm going to tell you something. Your mother is Sailorvenus."  
  
"I know that," said Masaya.  
  
"Yes, I know. Sailorvenus is the leader of the Inner Senshi. She was the one commissioned to protect the princess most closely. Now that Selenity is queen, she doesn't take that commission any less seriously than she used to. She'd believe that she's doing a good thing. First off, she wouldn't even believe Aiyana. How many people do you think would believe that an assassin was raped and mistreated on a foreign planet over believing that she made up a sob story to get her over?"  
  
"You have scientific proof she was raped," Masaya said. When Ami raised both of her eyebrows, Masaya stepped back. "Don't you?"  
  
"I never ran that examination, Masaya," Ami said. "I just took her word for it."  
  
"But...you never do that," Masaya said. "Why would you do it now?"  
  
"Because of you," Ami said, smiling wryly.  
  
"Me?" Ami turned away and went back to browsing, but Masaya followed her. "What have I got to do with this?"  
  
"I know you like her," she said simply.  
  
"So?" He cursed himself for not denying it, but there was no point to doing that, was there? It wasn't as if he was going to get into a real relationship with her, right?  
  
Right?  
  
"So...you're a good judge of character," she said. "I figured if you could trust her, maybe she was telling the truth."  
  
"That doesn't mean anything. It could have been..."  
  
"What?" Ami said, turning around to face Masaya with an interested look on her face. "Your attraction to her muddling your senses?"  
  
"Attraction?!" Masaya tried to look surprised. "What the hell are you talking about?!"  
  
"People only get really excited at the truth, Masaya," Ami said teasingly.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"It's quite obvious that you're attracted to her, Masaya," Ami said, shrugging. "I don't blame you. She's a pretty girl."  
  
"Whatever," Masaya sighed, exasperated. There was a point to denying this claim. Doctors weren't supposed to be attracted to their patients, no matter how pretty. The phrases malpractice lawsuit and loss of license popped up in his mind, and he groaned. "Even though I'm not, saying that I was, what if that clouded my judgment?"  
  
"You are, and it didn't," said Ami. "I just have this feeling, okay? Call it a hunch, but I'm a Senshi and I'm allowed to follow my hunches."  
  
Masaya shook his head, but his thoughts were really focused on what Ami had just said and the reaction it had elicited. People only get really excited at the truth, she had said. Even though she was teasing, there was some truth behind her words.  
  
You know she's right, you dimwit, a little voice whispered off in the corner of his head. What he had recently been contemplating didn't make him feel any better.  
  
He shrugged. So what if he was? He could keep it hidden and no one would ever have to know...  
  
***  
  
"Arigatou gozaimasu, Dr. Amesuino-sensei, Masaya-sensei," said Aiyana. Although her smile wasn't very broad, Masaya could tell she appreciated the "gifts."  
  
"Oh, don't thank me," said Ami, waving a hand. "We just got you some necessary things, that's all."  
  
"Arigatou anyway," Aiyana said. "You still got me them. No one else would have." Her eyes were sad when she said this.  
  
Ami nodded and smiled a bit. "Well, I have a patient in a few minutes, so I've got to get going. I'll see you later and see how you fit those things, okay?" She scooted out of the door, closing it gently behind her.  
  
Aiyana turned back to the small yet substantial pile of maternity clothing laying on her bed. She smiled more at the bright colors than the styles...she'd never worn such bright colors before. They didn't help inconspicuousness, and the dyes were expensive anyway, so she had mostly worn blacks and dark blues. But these colors were vivid, and obviously not too expensive on Earth. They were pretty, and she found herself wanting to wear them.  
  
She smiled broader when she saw a flash of bright red underneath the pile. Unearthing the garment, she found it was a red silk dress with a high Chinese collar. It had a deep violet floral print, with rich golden threads sewn in as a design. It was the prettiest garment she had ever seen, much less owned. Turning it to the side, she noticed it also had rather large slits up the sides. They would reach maybe her midthigh. Best of all, it was a stretch maternity garment, so she might be able to wear it after her pregnancy. She giggled a little, holding it up to her body and spun around to face the mirror, seeing...  
  
Masaya.  
  
In her embarrassment she dropped the dress. She'd forgotten he was still in the room.  
  
He had a wry smile on his face. "I guess you like it," he said, indicating the dress.  
  
Wordlessly, mortified, she nodded.  
  
He stooped to pick it up and placed it back on the bed. "Ami said you'd like red. I doubted it--I thought you were more a dark color person--but she said every female likes wearing red now and then. I guess she was right, although I can't possibly see where you'd wear it." He shrugged. "Whatever. Anyway...I sort of...got you something a little special, too."  
  
She was still mortally embarrassed, her cheeks pink, but she nodded and sat down in the chair placed by her bed. "Oh, arigatou."  
  
"Here..." Masaya looked embarrassed himself. "I'm sorry I can't stay...but I've got a patient in a few moments too. I'll be back to see how you like it, though..." He hesitantly placed the small box in her hands, then dashed from the hospital room.  
  
Aiyana looked down at the small box in her hands and slowly went to open it. Sitting inside was a golden chain with white pearls equally spaced on it, at the end a teardrop-shaped pendant made from pure amethyst. Her eyes widened.  
  
"Jewelry? He bought me a necklace..." She felt her eyse fill with tears again, but this time she wasn't so eager to brush them out of her eyes.  
  
***  
  
"State our position again, men?" Delta Hojo said in an inquiring tone, swng his leg over the seat behind the pilot.  
  
"We're about fifty light-years from the planet, Delta Hojo, and swiftly approaching at a speed twice that of which we had when we left."  
  
"Good, good. So how long do you think it will take us the reach the planet over fifty light-years?"  
  
The pilot checked the monitors. "Approximately...five months, Delta Hojo."  
  
Delta Hojo sighed. "So how did she get there so fast? They said it didn't take her but a month to arrive at Earth?"  
  
"Space turbulence and a few mix-ups added the extra months to arrive." The pilot cut a look at the co-pilot, who cringed.  
  
"What the hell..." Delta Hojo narrowed his eyes at the pilot and co-pilot. "What are you men talking about?"  
  
"Space turbulence..."  
  
"I don't want to hear about the...fudging...space turbulence," Delta Hojo said angrily, jumping up. "What did you mean by mix-up?"  
  
The two pilots looked up at the Delta leader. "Well...we actually were a bit off point. Eta Yasu here was picking up the wrong frequency and it confused the computers. We were travelling quite a bit away from the planet in actuality."  
  
"I thought you were supposed to be the best of the Eta force," said Delta Hojo. "What are your rank numbers?"  
  
"Seventh and Eighth, Delta Hojo."  
  
"Seventh and Eighth Eta?! Why the hell did they give me you guys?"  
  
"The first six were off on a training-testing mission, First Delta Hojo, and--"  
  
Delta Hojo threw up his hands. "You know what? Never mind. I don't even want to know. Jesus, five months, and she's already been there four!" He shook his head, then twisted his mouth in a sardonic sneer. "She could have gestate and give birth in that span of time!"  
  
***  
  
"Well, Tetsuya-chan," said Dr. Koikokoro, tickling the little boy's stomach, "you're all done. How do you feel?"  
  
Tetsuya opened his mouth and pointed to it, indicating discomfort.  
  
"Well, it'll take a little while for the medicing to start working," Masaya said, stooping down to Tetsuya's level. "But it will be okay in a few minutes, and then your mommy can give you more medicine so you can feel even more better, okay?"  
  
Tetsuya nodded. "Arigatou, Doctor Koikokoro-sensei!"  
  
"You're so welcome, Tetsuya-chan," said Masaya, smiling at the little boy. He gave Masaya a toothless smile. Then he stood up and noticed Tetsuya's mother was giving him the same smile, only with more teeth.  
  
He groaned. This one was a trip.  
  
"Thank you so much, Dr. Koikokoro-sensei," she gushed, wringing her hands together. "It was good of you to see Tetsuya on such short notice..."  
  
"Twenty-four hours is short notice?" Masaya raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Erm...don't they usually allow about three days for an appointment?"  
  
Masaya shook his head, eyeing Tetsuya's mother.  
  
"Oh...well, then, I'm just glad you saw him today. You always do such a great job with the children."  
  
"Thank you, Hinagiku-san," Masaya said, nodding. "I'll see you at another time, I suppose."  
  
"Wait--"  
  
"The prescription's on the slip; the nurse will give you any more directions. Bye now, Hinagiku-san!" He quickly ushered Tetsuya and his chattering mother out of the door and closed it swiftly behind them. He leaned against the door and let out a sigh. What was it with these young (and not-so-young) mothers trying to hit on him while he saw their children? That was the only bad part about being a young male pediatrician. Why couldn't more fathers come?  
  
His thoughts on the mothers actually were taking his mind away from a greater issue at hand. He was wondering if Aiyana liked his present to her.  
  
He'd thought he'd bought it on a whim, but he had actually be thinking about it since before they even went to the store. He felt bad for being sarcastic with her earlier and revealing the truth about her history, so he'd wanted to make it up to her with something special. He hadn't seen any rings on her fingers or jewelry, and figured that the officers of her empire probably didn't wear any jewelry on their missions--most reasonably-- and thought that jewelry was probably the best way to go for a girl, even a girl like Aiyana.  
  
But he had to admit, if only to himself, that feeling sorry for her wasn't the only reason he'd gotten the necklace for her. He was feeling other things for her that definitely had nothing to do with pity. When he'd went up to the counter--covertly, so Ami wouldn't see him--and looked for a nice trinket to give her, the small pendant seemed to have Aiyana's name written all over it. Small enough to be worn inconspicuously, but still there, a subtle expression of affection...  
  
Masaya shook his head, but the aged gesture didn't clear his head sometimes. In fact, it seemed as the clutter had resettled in the wrong places. He couldn't even think straight when he had seen the bauble, just went on instinct and bought it, no matter how expensive it may have been-- because it was real amethyst, real pearl, and twenty-four karat gold.  
  
He sighed heavily. The only way to find out if she had liked it was to ask her.  
  
***  
  
Aiyana sat down and touched her stomach. If that little fluttering in her stomach wasn't butterflies, then could it be...what she thought it was? Masaya was nowhere in sight--she blushed at the realization that he was the biggest butterfly-causer so far--and she wasn't hungry, so...what else could it be?  
  
There was a short knock on the door. She smiled. So far, Masaya had been keeping his promise about knocking before entering. "Come in," she called calmly, and the door soon opened, Masaya peering in.  
  
"Are you okay?" She was sitting in bed, the sheets drawn to her waist. The top of her slight build was extending over the top, and Masaya could observe a few changes in the size of...the upper half...of her torso. Blushing madly, he entered the room and tried to avert his eyes from that area of her body. Yet, that was where the necklace would be.  
  
"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"  
  
"You look better than you did when you first got here." He smiled. "Much better." Actually, healthwise she looked better...but in other ways, she looked just as beautiful, yet different. When she first arrived, she looked evil but much seductive. She'd lost the softly curvaceous figure and the thinness, but with her increased bust and stomach, she looked more maternal, and there was something angelically lovely about a pregnant female.  
  
"They hurt." She smiled.  
  
"What hurts?"  
  
"What you're staring at."  
  
Masaya felt his face heat up again. "I wasn't..."  
  
"You were staring."  
  
"Um..." He looked away.  
  
"Unless you were just looking for this." She pulled the necklace out of the collar of her new nightgown, which now fit comfortably over her rounded stomach.  
  
"Oh. You're wearing it." He smiled. "I was wondering whether you liked it or not."  
  
"Of course I do. Purple is my favorite color."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes. Thank you so much." She smiled faintly until another small tickling made her remember the question that she wanted to ask Masaya. "Masaya...I remember once you asked me if I could feel the baby kicking."  
  
"Hai, I did," Masaya said, taking a seat in the chair left by the bed. "Usually women don't feel it until four and a half months." He stopped. "You're about four and a half months, aren't you?"  
  
She smiled weakly and nodded. "Because earlier I was feeling this little fluttering and--there it goes again!"  
  
"You--" Masaya stopped, his eyes widening. "You feel it kicking?"  
  
"I...think that's what this is," she said, placing a hand over her stomach. "I mean, I'm not hungry, and--" She stopped. She couldn't tell Masaya the second reason why she might have butterflies. Although it was probably quite obvious in her mind to Masaya that she liked him, she didn't want to sound like a desperate little girl.  
  
"Well, you're at the right time of your pregnancy. It probably is the baby. It's low, about--" He was about to indicate where when he hesitated. Should he touch her?  
  
"Here?" she said, solving his dilemma by pointing in approximately the right spot.  
  
"Yes. There. That's great...it is the baby." Suddenly he felt a rush of excitement.  
  
Obviously Aiyana felt touched by it, too. She was staring down at the good- sized protrusion of her stomach that was steadily growing, smiling a Mona Lisa smile as she placed her hand over the spot where the child was growing. "It's kicking me. It's really in there." She looked back up at Masaya, her eyes sparkling. "You know, until now, it felt so foreign. I felt like maybe I was holding it in my head or something. Now that I can actually see it and feel it--it's stretching my stomach and I can feel its little kicks--it makes it so much more real. I'm...actually anticipating it. How much further do I have to go?"  
  
Masaya laughed. "Five months, Aiyana," he said. "You still have five months to go."  
  
She groaned. "Do these aches and pains start getting worse?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Ooooh," she moaned. "Well, at least the morning sickness is gone."  
  
"It gets replaced with dizziness, fainting, cramps, insomnia, headaches, and anemia."  
  
Aiyana's eyes widened from the way he rattled off the maladies and laid back against the headboard, suddenly feeling weak and defeated. "Oh."  
  
Masaya laughed. "Don't worry, you'll survive. Some women do it three and four times, and in my aunt Rei's case, five. You'll get through it just this once."  
  
Aiyana sighed deeply. "Is it worth it all?"  
  
Masaya took her hand and squeezed it gently. "You bet."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------  
  
AN: No, Delta Hojo does not know Aiyana's pregnant. It was a sarcastic joke that he made on the trip. Yes, Proximians and Centurians have the same gestation period as humans. Why? Because I said so…e-mail me at julymoonbunny@hotmail.com. 


	10. Little Girls Are Sweet

Chapter Ten - Little Girls Are Sweet  
  
***  
  
"Masaya, my best intern pediatrician in the history of Crystal Tokyo Hospital!"  
  
Masaya groaned and turned towards Ami with wide eyes. "What do you want me to do for you, Aunt Ami-san?"  
  
Ami grinned and poked him the chest. "You know me too well," she said. "I was going to ask a big big big favor of you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Would you watch Izumi, Nanami, and Manami for me for a few nights? I know you're off--"  
  
"All three of them?" The thought made Masaya a little weak. Occasionally, he baby-sat for Nanami and Manami, or Izumi separately. The thought of all three of the little energy balls bouncing off the walls here and there made Masaya a little sick. "For a few nights?"  
  
"A weekend," Ami said. "Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday. Mitsuru--well, he got reservations at a hotel somewhere. Says he has something he wants to talk to me about, and he wants to tell me someplace nice...I couldn't have any teenager watch them for a few nights...but of course, you're not a teenager...you're all grown up..."  
  
Masaya groaned again. "Let me check my schedule and think about it, Ami," he said.  
  
Ami grinned. She knew he was going to end up doing it anyway.  
  
***  
  
Ami opened Aiyana's door very, very slowly, peering into the room. Aiyana was sleeping peacefully, and Ami felt bad for waking her, but they had her on a strict eating schedule, and Ami didn't want to tip off Aiyana's delicate stomach.  
  
"Hey, girl," she whispered when she saw Aiyana start to become restless.  
  
Aiyana woke up and looked up at Ami. She must have been sleeping really hard, Ami said, noting Aiyana's bleary eyes and badly tousled hair. "Dr. Amesuino-sensei," she said in a scratchy voice, and roused herself.  
  
"Oi, I'm sorry to disturb your sleep...but it's breakfast-time, actually, and I didn't want to throw you off. It's crucial that you stick to your diet, especially at five months."  
  
Aiyana smiled and sat up. Her stomach had really begun to swell, and it was rounded in the stereotype of a quite pregnant woman. She moaned a little as she realized the dull ache in her lower back. "I was trying to sleep off the headache I got last night..."  
  
"Not feeling too well this afternoon, huh?"  
  
Aiyana shook her head. No, her headache hadn't disappeared.  
  
Ami smiled sympathetically and opened a small dresser drawer, taking out a canister of pregnancy-safe pain reliever. "Try these," she said. "Take them after you eat, with some water. Here, have some breakfast."  
  
Aiyana definitely had developed a healthier appetite--she gobbled down the food in a manner reminiscent of Masaya, or, come to think of it, Ami's own daughter Izumi. Ami smiled broadly as the young woman fervently ate.  
  
"That helping was for her," she said, pointing to the bulge at her stomach. "The next bowl's for me."  
  
"Her?" said Ami, amused. "So you've decided you want a girl, now?"  
  
Smiling faintly, Aiyana nodded.  
  
"Little girls are sweet," Ami said, nodding and smiling. "I have three of my own...although they kind of left the sweet stage behind..." She rolled her eyes. "They inherited only their looks from me. They act just like their father--talkative, energetic, and rather annoying."  
  
Aiyana laughed. "How old are they when they learn to talk?"  
  
"Oh, it varies. About one and a half to two years old, I suppose."  
  
Aiyana looked down. "My daughter--or son--will only learn Japanese," she said thoughtfully. "She or he won't really be surrounded by many Cassian-speaking people."  
  
"Cassian?"  
  
"My native language. Cassian."  
  
"Why would it be called Cassian if your people are called Centurians and Proximians?"  
  
"A queen of the empire, Cassiopeia, derived the alphabet to be used for the language we spoke. So they started calling it Cassian in her honor. That was before the Omegas came. They actually speak Psi. I can speak that, too."  
  
"Trilingual." Ami let out a low whistle. "Very valuable for Earthian universities."  
  
Aiyana smiled wryly. "I doubt that they would consider Cassian or Psi to be very useful languages."  
  
"You never know."  
  
Aiyana looked back to her food plate and ate the rest, considerably slower than she had eaten the first bowl. Then she set the bowl back on the night table. "Thank you, Dr. Amesuino-sensei."  
  
"You're so welcome."  
  
"Not just for the food, though...but for everything. For letting me stay here. For delaying whatever your constituents are trying to do." She sighed, turned her eyes towards the ceiling. "I know they want to execute me. I've made a mortal mistake, and my life's on the line..." She glanced down at the protrusion of her stomach. "I just hope I can save her from my mistakes."  
  
"What do you mean?" Ami inquired softly.  
  
"I don't want my daughter...or son...to die for something I did," she said, continuing to look down at her stomach. "And I don't know how willing they'd be to execute a pregnant woman...but considering I endanger the life of your monarchs..." Tears welled up in Aiyana's eyes, and she looked away so that Ami wouldn't see them. "I wonder what would happen if I did...if I were killed after I gave birth? Who would take care of my child? Where would she go?"  
  
Ami stared at Aiyana for quite a while silently. "I...I suppose that...we would take good care of her here, until she could be adopted by a loving family."  
  
Aiyana turned to Ami and stared at her for a few moments, eyes wet and red, and burst into bitter laughter. "Who would take my child?" she asked despairingly. "Who would take the offspring of the assassin who tried to kill the queen?"  
  
Ami lowered her eyes. "You've thought about this a lot, haven't you?"  
  
Sniffling, Aiyana nodded.  
  
Taken by impulse, Ami reached out and hugged Aiyana. "Don't cry, sweetheart...we'll find something to do with you and your child. You're only speculating...those are what ifs...let's see what we have here first, and we'll cross that bridge when we get there, okay?" The obstetrician felt a slight nod of the head of the patient sobbing into her shoulder.  
  
"It'll be okay, I promise. It will turn out okay in the end."  
  
***  
  
"Aiyana? You awake?"  
  
"Oh. Masaya." By now Aiyana had figured that Masaya and Ami were pretty much taking turns serving her meals, and it was Masaya's turn this time. She sat up. Earlier she had decided to rise out of bed, gently washed herself up with a little of Ami's help--she was still a little imbalanced with her weight--and dressed in some of the light, airy, pastel-colored maternity clothes to lighten her mood. She felt a little better, and Ami come back with some soothing aromatherapy candles later on to spruce up her room a little bit more. Now her room burned with the scent of vanilla candles, subtly blended with her own rosy scent to produce an uplifting, purely feminine spirit to the room.  
  
"Can I come in?"  
  
"Yes." She sat up--not without a struggle--and turned towards the door to watch Masaya coming in. He had her lunch. The days were getting more monotonous to Aiyana--breakfast, lunch, and dinner, always served by one of her two doctor friends. Of course, both of them were pleasant company, with Masaya's a bit more interesting than Ami's, but she still wished that she could add a bit more to her days. Although she had no desire to go back "home" to the Omega Star Empire, she would still have more to do--run drills, exercise, take various aptitude tests and such.  
  
Although, she reminded herself--or rather, her child reminded her when she felt the faint fluttering of baby limbs inside her abdomen--I couldn't very well do the things I used to in the Omega Star Empire with child. I wonder what they would have done with me if I had stayed there?  
  
"Good afternoon. Wow, it smells really good in here." Masaya's smile was cheerful. Aiyana could already tell that Ami had informed him she hadn't been in her best spirits this morning, and he was trying to make her feel better by being happy and cheerful. "I brought us some tuna sandwiches today. Ami suggested it. They're her favorite and she thought you might like them."  
  
Aiyana smiled. In the five months she'd been here, she'd had a lot of sandwiches, everything from the Italian works (which she liked) to watercress (which she despised--and apparently, so did the little one inside her, who quickly caused her to purge the horrible sandwich.) The sandwiches Masaya had in his hand looked suspiciously like watercress, but upon closer inspection she discovered that it was really green lettuce.  
  
She grabbed at the sandwich as soon as Masaya put it down on the table and he laughed. "Hungry?"  
  
"Yes, most definitely."  
  
While she ate her sandwiches--and part of Masaya's--the young doctor looked around the hospital room. "You know, Aiyana, with the exception of the exercise we do some mornings, you haven't left this hospital room since that day five months ago when you tried to escape."  
  
"That was four months ago," Aiyana said. "I was already a month pregnant when I got here."  
  
"Whatever," said Masaya. "It was still a long time ago. You've spent the better part of your pregnancy here. Isn't it kind of...well...boring at times?"  
  
Aiyana looked up. "I could be much worse off, Masaya," she answered gravely.  
  
"I know...but..." Suddenly, Masaya had an idea. "Would you like to get out if you could?"  
  
"I...suppose so." Aiyana eyed Masaya warily, but he seemed to be off in his own world. Masaya could scheme like his mother when he wanted to.  
  
"I mean, go somewhere? It'd probably be inside, too, but at least you'd be out of here..."  
  
"Would your government here let me leave the hospital?"  
  
Masaya waved his hand. "We go by a monarchy on Earth, and the queen has all but forgotten you're in here. She certainly didn't say that you couldn't leave the hospital. So, what do you say? I mean, the hospital room is rather plushy, but it isn't the best in modern accomodations."  
  
Aiyana nodded. "I've slept in worse, you've forgotten," she replied.  
  
"How would...well, look," Masaya said. "Ami asked me to watch her three kids for a weekend while she and her husband go on a little vacation. I haven't accepted yet, but I can give her a condition...and get you to come."  
  
Aiyana widened her eyes. "You want me to come and help you watch some children? After what I did?"  
  
"Ami trusts you, Aiyana," he said. "It's not like one of my other aunts asked me. She knows your situation and she trusts you."  
  
"Yes...whatever...it's different around children. Mothers get so much more defensive around their children." Aiyana put her sandwich down and looked back at Masaya. "I should know. I mean...I'm going to be a mother myself soon..." She frowned. "I've never said those words out loud, but I am. I'm going to be a mother soon. And I already can't bear to think of losing my child. How much more so will Ami fear for the three children she's already had for years?"  
  
Masaya raised an eyebrow. "Believe me, Ami will be more fearful for you than she will for her three children. I'll ask her!"  
  
Before Aiyana could protest otherwise, he had jumped up and dashed from the hospital room. Aiyana stared after him for a moment.  
  
"I hope I don't have any sons," she said to herself quietly.  
  
***  
  
"Dr. Amesuino Ami-sensei, my best mentor doctor in the world..."  
  
"Masaya, you're sucking up."  
  
"You're right," Masaya said, playfully indignant now. "And why should I suck up to you, when you asked such a big favor of me? You should be sucking up to me."  
  
"True. What do you want."  
  
"Well, you see..." Masaya smiled the same smile he used to smile when he was a little boy trying to get his way. The effects were doubled now that he was an older, handsome young man instead of a child. "See, I was thinking...Aiyana's so cooped up in her little hospital room, I don't know how healthy that is for her. And she said she'd love to help me take care of your kids."  
  
"You little liar," Ami said. "Aiyana never talks in extremes."  
  
"Well...it was close to that."  
  
"Let me guess--you asked for some help and she declined, saying she couldn't possibly. You insisted, and before she got a chance to get any more words out, you rushed out here to ask me."  
  
Masaya smiled sheepishly. "Okay...so maybe it was a little more like that. But believe me, I can tell from the way she looked at me that she wanted to do it. I mean, it would be such a great experience for her. She would learn what it's like to be around children, and she could feel better about her pregnancy..."  
  
"She seems pretty accepting of it now," said Ami. "As a matter of fact, she seems to be anticipating the birth."  
  
"Oh, shut up," said Masaya. "Do you always have to be right?"  
  
Smiling, Ami nodded. Masaya opened his mouth to speak again, but she held up a hand. "Let me clear it with my husband first. Personally, I think you're right--it would be great for Aiyana to get out of that little coop, but...by moral standards, I really should talk to Mitsuru first."  
  
"Aunt Ami, do you think Uncle Mitsuru will go for that?"  
  
Ami smiled devilishly. "You may be Minako's son, boy, but you learned your skills from me."  
  
***  
  
"Pack warm clothes," Amesuino Mitsuru said, grinning at his wife. "I promise it's a warm place."  
  
"Koibito," said Ami, sitting on the bed and curling herself into a fetal position--a very convincing position-- "do you think that Masaya can handle Nanami, Manami, and Izumi for a whole weekend?"  
  
"I trust Masaya's capabilities, koibito," Mitsuru said.  
  
"I mean, it takes two of us to take care of them and we can barely do it, what with all their energy and everything. They're thirteen and three. They've all got those issues..."  
  
Mitsuru shook his head and turned to his wife. "Ami-chan, where is this going?"  
  
"Well..." Ami smiled and ducked her head, lowering her lashes across her cheeks. "Masaya, knowing the situation, asked if he could bring a...little help...along."  
  
"A little help?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"And might this `little help' be another young adult?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Female, by any chance?"  
  
"Anou...yes."  
  
Mitsuru rolled his eyes. "Masaya didn't strike me as the type," he said, shaking his head again.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing like that. As a matter of fact," Ami said, venturing ahead with her fingers crossed for luck, "she's pregnant."  
  
Mitsuru's emerald green eyes widened now. "Pregnant?" He looked straight at Ami. "How helpful could she be?"  
  
Ami shot daggers at Mitsuru, and he hung his head.  
  
"Look, I trust Masaya and his decisions, as well as yours. If you both think this girl is not going to be a hindrance but rather an aid to this operation, fine. But only if you can trust her. You know her, right?"  
  
"Yes, of course."  
  
"Whatever...I just want to talk to her before I leave."  
  
Ami gulped.  
  
***  
  
"Masaaaaaayaaaaaaaa!"  
  
There is good reason Kami-sama gave me two legs, Masaya said, as Amesuino Nanami and Amesuino Manami each grasped one. Thank Kami-sama that Ami didn't have triplets!  
  
"Hi Nami-chan, Mami-chan...I'm happy to see you too...let go of my ankles!" He pried the two little children off his legs and swung them both into large bear hugs, to which they giggled.  
  
"Hi, Masaya-senpai."  
  
Masaya looked up. In the entryway was Mitsuru and Ami's oldest daughter, Amesuino Izumi. She was the youngest of the teenage group, not counting Tenrei. While she was short in stature and had soft blue hair and blue eyes, her eyes were tempered with green and they were crafty, like Mitsuru's. Her features were sharp and yet delicate, another thing she shared with Mitsuru. She was definitely a pretty girl. She also had a rather healthy crush on Masaya, a fact the young man was oblivious to.  
  
"Hi, Izumi-chan. Genki desu ka?" He hugged Izumi too, her small frame lifted into the air by his superior strength and weight.  
  
"I'm great! It's nice you finally came back over here, Masaya-senpai. You've been gone too long!" She flashed him a wide smile and grabbed his arm, trying to lead him to the living room. "Come on."  
  
"Wait..." He turned behind him. A lost-looking, scared Aiyana stood in the doorway, not sure what to do. She looked nervous as well, her eyes darting back and forth.  
  
Manami, the more extroverted of the three-year-old twins, looked up at her with large, wide green eyes. "Who are you?" she asked.  
  
Aiyana jumped about three feet in the air and stared down at the little girl. "Oh," she said. "You startled me."  
  
"Who are you?" she repeated.  
  
"I'm Aiyana," she answered. "Your babysitter," she added with a smile towards Masaya's way.  
  
Manami nodded, as if she understood and it made perfect sense, then toddled off in Masaya's direction, beckoning for Aiyana to follow.  
  
***  
  
"I think I hear them downstairs. Come on, we can leave." Mitsuru picked up his and Ami's suitcases. "You can get the carry-on, koibito."  
  
"Mitsuru-chan--" Ami struggled to run after Mitsuru, but he was on a mission and out the door. She wanted to beat him downstairs to ward off any problems he might have with Aiyana.  
  
Mitsuru ran down the stairs with ease--as if he weren't carrying two heavy suitcases--and walked into the living room, where Masaya, his children, and a fifth person were seated on the living room couch. Each babysitter held a twin in their lap, and Izumi was sitting in between them. The unfamiliar head was sitting on the side of the couch closest the staircase, and she looked up.  
  
Mitsuru's eyes got as big as saucers, and he completely dropped the suitcases. One fell on his foot, but he didn't even notice. He was too busy gaping at the young woman sitting on the couch with his child playing in her lap.  
  
Ami arrived downstairs, took one look at her husband, and knew that she was too late.  
  
***  
  
"Ami, would you please like to tell me what is going on?"  
  
Ami looked up at her husband with the biggest, wettest, bluest eyes she could muster. After she saw the incredulous look on Mitsuru's face, and the troubled look on Aiyana's face--she looked as if she were about to burst into tears--she had quickly steered her husband upstairs into their bedroom to rectify the situation.  
  
"Why is she in my house, Ami? Why the hell is she in my house?!"  
  
"Mitsuru, I asked you if Masaya could bring along a little female help."  
  
"No, Ami. You did not specify. You did not ask if Masaya could bring a killer into my home, to watch my children, for two days and a night!"  
  
"She's not a killer, Mitsuru. She hasn't killed anyone."  
  
"YET! Do you want one of our children to be the first?! And how do you know she hasn't killed anyone before? She was obviously trained as an assassin."  
  
"But obviously, she failed. Which is why she is the predicament she is now. A trained, experienced assassin would have completed her task. I doubt she could have killed many people, if even one--she's only seventeen."  
  
"Ami, may I ask you another question?"  
  
"Yes, Mitsuru?"  
  
"Why is she pregnant?"  
  
Ami smiled. "I think I know how she's pregnant, koibito. You have three children of your own."  
  
Mitsuru gave Ami a look that told her he was not joking, and Ami clamped her mouth shut.  
  
"I didn't ask how. I asked why."  
  
"Well..." Ami looked up to the ceiling. "Because she didn't want an abortion, I suppose would be the best answer I could come up with."  
  
"Why would an assassin have qualms about killing her own baby? Something that most don't even regard as a living creature yet?"  
  
Ami turned her eyes back on Mitsuru as he said this. Mitsuru was the farthest thing from a doctor--he was the computer programmer for Crystal Tokyo's central computers--but he did have compassion for people, and he loved his children and his family very dearly. The discrepancy in Aiyana's reputation and the facts was bothering him. Finally he turned his eyes back on Ami's, green into blue.  
  
"Ami," he said, "remember when we were at Rei-san's house? Do you remember what I said to MInako when she was talking about your supposed `disloyalties'?"  
  
"Yes," Ami replied, meek, but brightening. "You told Minako that you'd learned to trust my judgment."  
  
"Exactly," Mitsuru said. "Now, I've learned to trust that judgment, even when I was scared out of my mind and I thought I might die...you remember those times..."  
  
Ami nodded.  
  
"I hope that I can trust you on this too, Ami." He said it very gravely. "I hope I won't regret my choice, Ami...the consequences are very serious for a mistake on this one. I don't want to play guessing games with the lives of my family."  
  
"I know that Aiyana wouldn't do anything to hurt any of the girls," Ami said. "She's about to be a mother herself. She's...she's changed from when she first arrived, and she wasn't all bad then, either. Mitsuru, I promise you won't regret it."  
  
Mirsuru looked down at his hands. "I still want to talk to her before I leave here. You may be reassured, but I sure as hell am not."  
  
Ami nodded. That was half the battle...Aiyana, you're going to have to fight the other half on your own.  
  
***  
  
"Konban wa. What is your name?"  
  
Ami had been right; Aiyana had felt about ready to cry when Mitsuru had looked at her like that. But she had clutched the small amethyst pendant hanging around her neck for strength and held her tears in for another time. This was no time to break down.  
  
"Aiyana, Amesuino-dono."  
  
Mitsuru was surprised by the girl's use of the courtly honorific. She wasn't from Crystal Tokyo, and only residents called them by their courtly names, sometimes not even then. But he didn't show his surprise and continued to question her.  
  
"Aiyana-san. I'm going to trust you here with my children. I just want to ask you two things. They may seem very personal questions, but I just have to know."  
  
Aiyana nodded.  
  
Mitsuru thought about his question before he asked it...it needed to be worded correctly. "Did you come here on your own or did someone send you?"  
  
Aiyana stared solemnly back at Mitsuru. "I was sent," she said. She said no more, but the answer spoke volumes to Mitsuru. He nodded.  
  
"My second...what made you decide to keep your baby?"  
  
Aiyana looked down at her stomach and blushed. I suppose it's become quite obvious that I am with child...I never knew it was so perceptible to others, but..."I didn't believe taking its life was right. Taking its life...because of a wrong someone else did to me...even then, it didn't feel right." She realized that she had let out her mortal secret, but if it would allow her to stay here and watch Ami's children...away from the confines of the hospital room...she would tell anything else. "I've grown quite attached to my little one," she added with a smile. In response, the `little one' kicked Aiyana from the inside.  
  
Mitsuru observed this little exchange, the last sentence half spoken to herself. Slowly, a smile began to spread across his face. She seemed almost oblivious to him and the rest of the room now as she experienced the presence of her child within her, positively glowing with pride and love for a child she hadn't even seen yet, only knew from within herself.  
  
"That's all I needed to know, Aiyana-san," Mitsuru said quietly. "Thank you for volunteering to watch my children for me this weekend."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
AN: This chapter is longer (about two pages longer) than my usual ones, but I cut out the last two pages right at the cliffhanger. Then I readded them because I didn't like that I just had two pages hanging. Ah, this is just me rambling...Comments and questions to be sent to [1]julymoonbunny@hotmail.com  
  
References  
  
1. mailto:julymoonbunny@hotmail.com 


	11. She Screamed At Me, Too

**Chapter Eleven **

**She Screamed At Me, Too**  
  
***  
  
Izumi crossed her arms and studied Aiyana carefully. "You're going to be staying here with Masaya and us?"  
  
Aiyana nodded solemnly.  
  
Izumi sniffed. "What's your name?"  
  
"Aiyana."  
  
"You don't look that much older than me."  
  
"I'm not."  
  
"So why are you going to be babysitting me?"  
  
"She is," Masaya said firmly, looking Izumi in the eye. "Four years constitutes enough for me. She can drive, work, and has citizenship, while you don't. In any event, she's helping me out."  
  
"Izumi-san probably doesn't need much babysitting, anyway," said Aiyana, to make the younger girl feel more at ease. "She's--what, thirteen?"  
  
Izumi nodded haughtily.  
  
"Good," she said. "No, you can help Masaya and I anyway."  
  
"We didn't have no dinner, Masaya-san," Nanami said, pulling at Masaya's pants leg, "and I'm hungry!"  
  
"It's about five o'clock," said Masaya. "Dinner should be served around...hmmm...seven? How about we get stuff started? I know, we can all make a nice dinner together. How does that sound?"  
  
The twins cheered, and Izumi smiled. She turned to Aiyana, rather stiffly. "Can you cook?"  
  
"I've never tried before," said Aiyana, shrugging.  
  
"Well, maybe you should stay out of the kitchen. You may blow something up."  
  
"I wouldn't doubt it."  
  
"Oi, that's no fun!" Masaya said. "You've never tried; you have to try sometime. Look, we'll put you on side dish squad for the time being. If you do okay on that, tomorrow night you can move on up. How does that sound?"  
  
"Sounds..."  
  
"Look," Masaya said, leaning in towards Aiyana, "if I have to cook, so do you. You're supposed to be helping me."  
  
"I was about to say that it sounds like a plan." She smiled faintly. "Only I think I'm feeling a bit faint..."  
  
"Don't pull that. You can sit in a kitchen chair and mix stuff." He took hold of her wrist--gently, but firmly--and guided her into the kitchen, protesting and squealing.  
  
Izumi crossed her arms again and stormed after her two skipping, jumping little sisters. She'd better keep an eye on Miss Aiyana Khalidah for the next couple of days.  
  
***  
  
"Macaroni? What is that? Is this cheese? I thought cheese was sliced."  
  
Masaya pressed two fingers into the bridge of his nose and grit his teeth. Aiyana, who was usually quiet and submissive, had been asking more questions and had been making more messes than Nanami and Manami put together.  _Well, perhaps not that much, but...she's up there with them!_ She had the 'dropsy' and 'placenta brains' that pregnant women had sometimes, but it had never manifested itself like right now...she'd already spilled milk for the macaroni and cheese on the floor and there were elbow noodles all over the table. And of course, she couldn't stoop to clean it up...so guess who had to do it.  
  
"Gomen...ooh! This cheese is...ah!"  
  
"NO! Aiyana, do not cut like that...cut away from yourself...not..." Masaya let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh! Izumi-chan! Can you _please_ help Aiyana cut this cheese so she doesn't cut her finger off?"  
  
Izumi sighed. _What, you thought Masaya-senpai cleaned up that spilled milk? No, no...I had to clean it up..._ She walked from the counter--where she had been kneading dough for the biscuits--and went over to the table to help Aiyana cut the cheese.  
  
"Like this." She was tired of helping Aiyana do things. Even Nanami and Manami, who were happily rolling out dough for apple streudels--Masaya made everything from scratch--seemed more productive than Aiyana.  
  
"Oh...arigatou, Izumi-san!" She flashed a charming smile at Izumi, one that the younger girl had come to hate. Not only did it usually mean she was trying to make friends with her, which was something Izumi did not want, but it usually made Masaya melt under its light. Yes, Izumi had noticed that Masaya was taking more than a healthy interest in Aiyana, and it wasn't just because she was pregnant, either. That interest was one that Izumi was not liking at _all_.  
  
She whirled away from the table and back to her dough. Nanami and Manami giggled as they watched Aiyana, with her new cutting technique, at the table.  
  
"We hafta put the appas in next," Nanami said, reaching for the apples in the center of the table.  
  
"Yeah. We need to chop them up. Here, Aiyana-san. Can you pass the knife over here?" Manami asked.  
  
Aiyana lifted the knife off the table and passed it the twins' way.  
  
"_NO!_" Izumi said, running to the table and catching the knife before Manami's chubby hand could grab it, blade-first. "You're not supposed to give toddlers _knives_! And you don't pass knives _blade first_. Don't you know _anything?!_"  
  
Aiyana recoiled from Izumi's heated attack. "I'm...I'm sorry!" she screamed back, narrowing her eyes at the younger girl. "I was only trying to help! You're not helping me at all, screaming like a little baby! You're worse than the twins!"  
  
"Ooooh!" Izumi yelled. Aiyana had hit her soft spot, calling her young...especially since Aiyana was closer in age to Masaya than she was. She slammed the knife on the table, glaring at Aiyana. "Talking about me, worse than the twins! You're not helping much either, making more messes than the two of them put together! You were probably doing it on purpose, fed up with them making you look bad and trying to get rid of them!"  
  
_"I was not! I'd never try to kill anyone ever again!"_  
  
Aiyana pushed her seat back from the table and stood up. She was a pitiful sight, raging mad, but Izumi noticed tears had collected her eyes, and she was nervously fingering a small teardrop-shaped pendant around her neck. She'd hit a soft spot too, she saw. Aiyana gave an angry, shuddery sigh, then left the kitchen.  
  
And for once, Masaya had no idea what to do.  
  
***  
  
Izumi sat on one end of the couch, arms folded once again and a sullen expression on her face. Aiyana hadn't cried, which surprised Izumi, who remembered how touchy women could be when pregnant. Her mom was like that, too, when pregnant with the twins. She'd almost hoped Aiyana _would_ cry...because she'd also forgotten how compassionate Masaya was. He'd have comforted Aiyana, shooting an angry look at Izumi. As it is, earlier he'd confronted her.  
  
"Izumi-chan," he said, "you shouldn't have screamed at Aiyana like that. She's going through a hard time, and she certainly doesn't feel like she's doing anything right. She doesn't need you adding on to it."  
  
"What about me?" Izumi was never one afraid to express her opinions, not even to Masaya, and she felt she was being neglected. "She screamed at me, too. She called me a baby!"  
  
"She _didn't_ call you a baby," Masaya said. "She said you were screaming like one. Which you were. You flew a little off the handle there, Izumi-chan."  
  
"Don't call me _-chan_!"  _You don't call _her –_chan_.  
  
Masaya raised his eyebrows, rather amused. "I've called you _-chan_ for years. What else do you want me to call you?"  
  
"Just...Izumi!" And she huffed away again. Masaya was utterly confused.  
  
Aiyana had watched the exchange between the two of them. What was the girl's problem? It was coming together, but very slowly and not bright enough. She needed to watch Izumi more to find out why the younger girl hated her so much, when she had just met her a few hours ago.  
  
Masaya was sitting on the far end of the couch, Izumi was on the other side, and the TV was on, although obviously only the twins were watching it because it was turned to a cartoon movie. Also obvious was the fact that Izumi was a little angry at Masaya, but not too angry, because she was still staring at him in a not-so-angry manner. Aiyana shook her head. She was standing up, Nanami was in her arms, playing in her hair, and Manami was begging her to sit down next to her--which would place her in between Izumi and Masaya.  
  
Much as Aiyana would have liked to sit next to the young man--_poor thing, he looks so burned out! I feel so bad for stressing him by arguing with Izumi_--she didn't want to widen the sudden chasm between Izumi and her favorite cousin, so she sat down next to Izumi, causing Izumi to scoot over closer to Manami. Manami crawled in Izumi's lap to move over towards Aiyana, which had Izumi scooting closer to Masaya. Aiyana sighed, then turned to the twins striving to share her lap.  
  
"Here...I don't have much of a lap anymore," she giggled as she arranged the twins so each would be sitting on a leg. "There you go. Sit like that."  
  
Manami squealed as she turned her attention to the TV screen, seeing her favorite cartoon character there, and Nanami merely laid her head on Aiyana's round stomach. But she promptly removed it, staring at it. "What's that, Aiyana-san? Are you still hungry?"  
  
"No...what are you talking about, Nanami-chan?"  
  
"Your stummy is moving. It bumped."  
  
Aiyana looked down. Yes, it had bumped, but it wasn't for lack of food. She laughed. "No, I'm not still hungry, Nanami-chan. That's my baby moving. Before only I could feel it, but I guess now you can feel it too. She hasn't moved all night--she's been pretty quiet--but I guess now that all the...noise...has calmed down, she's started to move again." Aiyana laughed. "That doesn't seem to make any sense, does it?"  
  
"That's the baby? I can feel the baby from out here!" Nanami smiled toothily. "Cool!" She laid a small, chubby hand on Aiyana's stomach, and was soon rewarded by a small bump on the hand. "I really can feel it!"  
  
Masaya lifted his head from his hand. "Really?"  
  
"I guess so," said Aiyana. "Nanami-chan says she can."  
  
"Let me feel!" Manami said, all interest in her cartoon lost. "Ooh, I can feel it too!"  
  
Aiyana smiled broadly, nodding. "Yep, that's probably her little arms or legs flailing."  
  
"Maybe that means she wants to come out," Manami said. "Do you think she wants to come out, Aiyana-san?"  
  
"No," said Aiyana. "She's warm and safe in there, she doesn't have to do anything, and she gets fed regularly whenever I eat. I don't think she'd want to come out."  
  
"I think I would," said Nanami. "If I was ever inside my mommy's stummy, then I would want to come out, too."  
  
"You were once inside Mom, Nanami-chan," Izumi said, scoffing at her younger sister's enthuiasm at the moving baby. She'd felt her mother's moving stomach plenty of times when she was pregnant with the twins...it had been a little weird and exciting the first time she'd felt a real, live, baby move while still not quite born, but she felt she was too old to be so excited over that little action.  
  
She turned to see Masaya's reaction to the baby vibrating within Aiyana's stomach. A small smile had spread over his face, and he was staring at Aiyana rather intensely--a development Aiyana was oblivious to. Izumi had never seen that look on Masaya's face, and she wasn't sure she liked it too much, especially directed at Aiyana Khalidah!  
  
Izumi frowned and stood up, walking out of the living room. She noted only Aiyana lifted her head and stared after her worriedly, but that only made her more incensed. Aiyana's look was pitying, and Izumi didn't like that look. But Masaya didn't notice, of course, because he was too busy paying attention to Aiyana and her baby...  
  
Suddenly Izumi's head snapped up and a thought crossed her mind. She smirked devilishly. She had the _perfect _solution.  
  
* * * * *  
  
_Endymion  
  
I find it quite amusing that you have only just now figured that she would eventually be brought to Crystal Tokyo. Every secret is always exposed to light, especially if it pertains to destiny. It is no miracle, just destiny and life working itself out. And yes, you are right...she does have your eyes, deep and filled with emotion.  
  
When she disappeared years ago, of course I was very worried about her--a mother's natural instinct. But I realized--unlike you--that this was only a way for her to meet her other parent, which is all she's strived for. Younger, she asked...sometimes, even when she didn't ask questions about her father, I knew she was thinking about questions, questions she knew I wouldn't answer. I felt so bad because these things were concealed, but I was frightened. Frightened that she would go looking for you...although shy, Seishi was always extremely strong of heart, and she would accomplish anything she desired. And I knew she would succeed if she tried...nothing to do with knowing the future this time, however. I knew it because I know my daughter.  
  
The idea of her being kidnapped is very tantalizing...I never wanted to believe my dear daughter had run away from me. I berated myself, asking "Why?" And yet I knew the answer...she wanted to find you. If she was kidnapped as you think, then that would explain why she doesn't remember me or anything I've taught her. It might also explain why she tried to kill you and your wife. You should ask her, test her. But memories run deep, so be prepared for her to remember if you do so, Endymion.  
  
I smile at the thought of my lady falling in love. She never was the dreamy type, although she always seemed a wisp of reality, floating away from me...and yet I still feel her eating away at my vitality. I was already weak before her, and grew weaker with bringing her into the world, and still I grow weak as she grows stronger. Every day, her heart grows stronger, she regains her memories, and one day she will be stronger than I, taking me completely. Then I will float away from her. And yet, I sense another presence with her...I hope that doesn't mean what I think it does...and Ami is an obstetrician, ne?  
  
Haruka and Michiru are beginning to feel it too. Not the other precense, but they are sensing her connection to me. You've told me this, and I knew they would if they ever met her. The others are blinded by their loyalty to the king and queen, but Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama raised me, and they can see it. If Setsuna were there, they would know. They will, eventually, remember, and they will confront you. They are disturbed by my disappearance and it hurts me inside to know I am hurting my surrogate parents, the ones who have cared so much about me, but this is the way that it must be.  
  
I hope that things go well for you. That was the whole purpose of this charade...but I do not believe that they will go wrong. Seishi will live, and things will turn out as they must. We did not see this all the times we asked Setsuna about our futures, but I suppose that no matter how concrete things seem, there are always little surprises along the way.  
  
Hotaru_  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
AN: Well, there you have it...you were all guessing it all along, so I decided to let you know. Now the question isn't  _who_ but _how_ and _why_. Don't hit me...  
  
No, Izumi does not know that Aiyana is the assassin...she was just angry and threw that in as a jab. Little does she know how much the jab hurt Aiyana.  
  
About Izumi's _-chan_ qualms, perhaps I should explain...the suffix i-chan/i is usually used for people that you're very close with. Family members that are close call each other with "-chan" and close friends may call each other "-chan." For example, the Senshi call each other "-chan" (Ami-chan, Rei-chan, Usagi-chan, Mako-chan, Mina-chan) and Usagi calls Mamoru "Mamo-chan."  
  
So why in heaven's name would Izumi be mad? Well, "-chan" may seem negative, especially to teenagers, because it also denotes young age. The Senshi also call Chibi-usa "Chibiusa-chan" because of her young age. In the manga, Rei does not call Usagi "Usagi-chan" because she is her princess, the leader of the Senshi, and she has a lot of respect for her. "-chan" is considered an insult to someone who is older than you (like, if Aiyana called Masaya "Masaya-chan" without his permission, that would be *very* disrespectful). So by Izumi not wanting to be called "-chan" by Masaya, it denotes that she wants to be viewed as older by Masaya, since she has a crush on him. Of course, Masaya is oblivious to this and does not understand Izumi's desire, especially since he has always called her "-chan." However, he never calls Aiyana "-chan"--which is another reason why Izumi comes to dislike the pet honorific.  
  
Aiyana sometimes forgets the honorifics because Japanese is not her native language, but as time goes on she begins to remember them more. For instance, she doesn't call Izumi "Izumi-chan" but "Izumi-san," even though the girl is younger than her, for respect.  
  
I know this is a fairly short chapter, compared to the others, but I wanted to leave you hanging with that letter. ^_^ Complaints, flames, questions, and comments can be sent to [1]keskiivikko@yahoo.com or asked in a review with your e-mail address. I read all my reviews and will reply if asked to, although maybe not right away.  
  
Speaking of reviews, thanks for the support _and_ constructive criticism!


	12. She Came Too Soon

Chapter Twelve - She's Come Too Soon  
  
***  
  
"This excursion is taking *forever*," Emperor Omega said, stretching his legs out. "How much longer do we have to go?"  
  
"A little over three and a half ikkagetsu, your highness," Acting First Delta Junichi Hojo said. "There were a few discrepancies with some of the pilots." Delta Hojo sent a glare in the direction of the cockpit.  
  
"These quarters are beginning to get cramped," First Omega Emperor Baran Matsudaira joked. The ship was massive, and the king's quarters were very large.  
  
Delta Hojo smiled faintly. "We should be arriving in a short period of time, your highness...four and a half months, at regular speed. It's too dangerous and not very comfortable to enter hyperspeed."  
  
"Yes, whatever..." Emperor Omega, as he was commonly called--no one used his first name--yawned. "As long as we get there, it should be worth the wait. Earth is too close to us for it not to be included in our realm."  
  
`Three ikkagetsu is close?' Prince Tamashiiro thought, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Delta Hojo nodded and left.  
  
"What do you think, my boy? Wouldn't you like this small jewel to be a part of your inheritance?" He smiled devilishly at the young man deep in thought. "The planet *and* the girl?"  
  
Prince Tamashiiro rolled his eyes. Actually, he'd been thinking a lot more about the girl lately. Yes, he did want her. Why, he didn't know, and how they would find her on Earth--it was a small planet in comparison to Proximi and Centauri, and even Ethiopia, but still--he didn't know either, but if she had been taken in custody, there would be no problem finding her. After all, sent to kill the king and queen, she'd most likely be in the central city Crystal Tokyo, and that's where they were headed.  
  
"Both seem like a very hefty inheritance, Otou-sama," he answered, smirking. The picture of First Delta Aiyana Khalidah formed in his mind. He wondered--  
  
"Ah." There was a dizzy spin in his head. He touched his temple, remembering too late how protective his father was.  
  
"Tamashiiro-kun? Are you all right?" Emperor Omega reached towards his son and affectionately touched him on the arm.  
  
"Yes." Tamashiiro shook his head gently. He'd been experienced this dizziness for quite a while now, and it was usually followed by a supreme headache. He could feel the onset of it now, and winced at the thought.  
  
"Otou-sama? I believe I'll be retiring."  
  
"But...it's only the ninth jikoku!"  
  
"Yes. But I really don't feel well...Otou-sama, may I?"  
  
Emperor Omega sighed worriedly. "If you must. I do hope this doesn't last too long. You've been having these dizzy spells for quite some time, haven't you?"  
  
Prince Tamashiiro grimaced. He'd hoped the emperor hadn't noticed, but apparently he had.  
  
"You've got to be in your best condition coming upon Earth. It's such a different planet from our own; you could have adverse reactions that would only be aggravated by your illness. I'll not have my son miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime!" Emperor Omega snapped his fingers. "Messenger. Go and search out the doctor. There's got to be one on this ship. I want my son tended to..."  
  
***  
  
King Endymion entered his study hall, tracing his fingers along the dusty bindings of the books on the shelves. Most were legal volumes. He didn't feel like reading dreary titles denoting volumes holding the histories of the Silver Millennium, the reinstated throne...he'd lived through these moments in history, and there was no need for him to research them.  
  
However, there was another moment in history he'd lived through that hadn't been recorded in the volumes.  
  
Glancing at the door again to reassure himself it was locked, Endymion made his way over to his desk in the corner of the room. Next to it was a personal cabinet. He pulled out his keys, staring ruefully at them as he remembered the day Serenity had lost them. It had taken him hours to scour the palace and find those keys--in the dining room, under a leg of one of the chairs--and they had completely missed the Senshi's dinner.  
  
He clutched them in his hand for a moment before moving to open the cabinet door. As soon as he did, a clutter of papers and pictures fell out, having been hastily shoved in there from the last time had viewed them.  
  
Papers, with the name `Tomoe Keiko' scrawled painstakingly across the top, large 100's and colorful stickers adorning the corners of good papers. King Endymion sorted through the mess until he found the picture he was looking for. It was the most recent picture of Keiko, at about age twelve. She was wearing a dark purple jumper with a white shirt underneath, a pink-purplish denim vest overtop, and she was holding a a yellow flower in her hand, her head cocked to the side with a cute smile on her face.  
  
Her features had been softer and younger then...there was the slightest hint of a budding bosom, no curves, and her hair had only begun to spread across her shoulders, not yet reaching the glorious length it had as she grew older. Her eyes were blue-violet, but not as piercing, as dark, as intense as the young woman who had appeared at the palace almost five months before and threw his world into a tailspin.  
  
Endymion clutched the picture close to himself as he felt tears well in his eyes. Back in those years, it had been much harder to tell...but now it was so simple, so obvious, he was so surprised no one else had been able to discover. Those *were* his eyes, piercing blue and intense as the oceans, turbulent with emotion and pain, no doubt from the life she had went through. Although Endymion had not seen the young assassin since that day he and his wife had chanced to see them exercising around the palace, the image of her figure and her eyes had emblazoned across his mind.  
  
Endymion stared back down at the picture. Young Keiko had a cute smile on her face, full of life and exuberance and happiness. The day Endymion had seen her with Masaya, there was that laughing twinkle in her voice, but it was tempered by a darkness and sadness in her eyes that Endymion had never seen in a teenager, prayed he would never have to see in his legitimate daughter. What had happened to her? Where had she been?  
  
`She's come too soon...what will become of her...and of me?'  
  
Endymion clutched the picture to his chest again and bent his head down again, crying tears held back for over seventeen years.  
  
***  
  
Sailorvenus sighed heavily as she stared at the monitor. "Why did Ami and Mitsuru choose this weekend to go out of town?"  
  
Kunzite rubbed her lightly on the back as she sank into a chair. "They needed a vacation. We all do, actually...things have been blown really out of proportion. This thing is a lot faster than we anticipated."  
  
"And it's not going back to where it came from," Sailormars added. "Remember we thought it had returned on it's path home? Obviously it did that on accident. It's redirected towards Earth and is heading towards us at alarming speed."  
  
"I wonder..." Sailorneptune stared at the monitor, her eyes not leaving it. But she was not seeing the monitor. She was seeing a picture of a certain blue-eyed beauty staying in the hospital. The connection she felt was strong...but she didn't want to reveal her feelings just yet. The connection she felt between the assassin and her beloved surrogate daughter were much stronger, and she was stupid if she would let the Senshi ruin her chance to know if this assassin knew anything about Hotaru...anything important.  
  
Sailoruranus turned and looked at Sailorneptune. She knew that Neptune was having visions of the ship and the assassin, all connected to Hotaru, but she refused to tell the Senshi, and had pleaded Uranus not to tell them either. And Uranus had listened to her pleas. She loved Michiru; and she had also loved Hotaru...and wished to find out any information possible.  
  
"There must be some way to incriminate that girl. She's too dangerous to be spending her time in Crystal Tokyo's finest hospital! If Ami were here, she'd be getting the third degree!" Sailorvenus pounded her fist into her hand. "As well as my son. They're both hiding something about that girl that I think needs to be known. I'm burning to know more about her!"  
  
"Isn't Masaya at Ami's house, babysitting her children?" Sailorjupiter asked. "I think I remember you saying something about that to me."  
  
"Hai," Sailorvenus said. "I think I should pay a visit to my son while he's over there. Ask him a few questions. It's important that he tells us these things...like what's taking so long! And since Ami is unavailable, he's the next to call." Sailorvenus nodded, resolute. "Yes, I think I'll ring him up to tell him I'm coming over there, and he'd better have something to tell me."  
  
***  
  
Aiyana hefted Nanami on her hip and stared at the curved device ringing on the walll. Masaya and Aiyana were striving to serve the three girls breakfast. It was considerably easier than last night, considering Aiyana had slept in and Masaya had cooked, then awakened her to help him serve it.  
  
The thing looked enough like the cellular devices the Omegas used to communicate with each other, except there was no camera to see your receiving party. At that moment Aiyana was glad the Terrans had limited technology compared to that of the Omegas. The only person that would call here now, she probably didn't want to know that she was over here.  
  
`Now how do these people answer their little tele-wave talking devices?' She lifted the receiver and pressed it against her cheek, so presumably it would be easier to hear against her ear. "Moshi moshi," she said. "Amesuino residence."  
  
Minako was taken aback at hearing the feminine voice over the phone. It didn't sound a thing like Izumi. "Izumi-chan? Is that you?"  
  
Aiyana flipped the telephone over, realizing she was holding the speaking part where her ear was. But the device was loud enough that she could hear the person on the other end. `Okay, so this is definitely not Dr. Amesuino or her husband!' "Ah...who is this?"  
  
Minako frowned. "Who's this?"  
  
Aiyana covered the phone with her hand. "Masaya-sensei!"  
  
"Who *is* this?" Minako said. "You don't sound like Izumi-chan. Is that one of your friends?"  
  
Masaya turned around. "What is it?"  
  
"Someone's on this...thing..."  
  
"The telephone?"  
  
"Yes! They asked if I was Izumi." She shrugged. "Here."  
  
Masaya frowned and took the telephone. "Moshi moshi?"  
  
"Masaya? Is that you?"  
  
"*Mama*?!" Masaya pulled the phone away from his mouth and cursed under his breath. "Mama, what are you calling here for?"  
  
"Who answered the phone, Masaya?"  
  
"Oh...that was Izumi...she was trying out a new voice!" Masaya smiled and leaned against the counter. "Yeah, crazy girl, she's trying to sound and act older. Anyway, what are you calling here for?"  
  
"I wanted to ask--no, tell you I was coming over. The new sightings on the interstellar monitor had some new developments, and it's important that I talk to you about this assassin that you're holding in the hospital--for whatever reasons. We need to talk about those, too."  
  
Masaya cursed again, forgetting to cover the receiver this time.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"I said...I'm in a muck. I can't...can't have you over now...Ami said no guests!"  
  
He could just see his mother pursing her lips on the other side of the phone. "She didn't mean *me*, Masaya. I'm your *mother*, for Kami's sake."  
  
"Ah...Mama, this is really not a good time--"  
  
"Make it good, Masaya, this is important. I'll be over in a few." Click.  
  
"Holy sh--"  
  
"No, Masaya-sensei, not around Nanami-chan," Aiyana teased. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Mama's coming over. *Now*!"  
  
Aiyana's eyes widened. "Oh, no."  
  
"Oh, yes! What am I going to do with you?"  
  
"I'll go upstairs. And stay in Dr. Amesuino's guest room. There'd be no reason for her to come in there, would there?"  
  
"As long as you didn't make any noise." Masaya took a deep breath. "Mama drives like a flaming bat out of hell when she's determined, so she'll definitely be here soon. Quick, give me Nanami and go upstairs!"  
  
Aiyana handed Masaya the little girl and laughed a little. "I can't do anything quickly anymore."  
  
Despite himself, Masaya smiled. He took her arm gently and led her up the stairs and to the guest room where she had been staying the past few days. "Here...stay in here. Go to sleep or something. You sleep so quietly she'll never know another soul's in the house."  
  
Aiyana smiled. "Must I?"  
  
"No, but make it *good*. I'll be downstairs if you need anything, but don't need anything!" Masaya gave her a quick smile before rushing out of the bedroom, bounding down the stairs to reach the three girls.  
  
"Look, you guys..." Masaya stared at Nanami and Manami. "We're playing a game, okay? Aunt Minako is coming over to play a game with us!"  
  
"Yay!" the twins yelled. Izumi wrinkled her brow.  
  
"We're going to play Hide-and-go-Seek, okay?" Masaya said. "Yep. Aiyana's hiding. We won't tell Aunt Minako where's she's hiding. We can't--it's a big secret! If Aunt Minako finds Aiyana, then the game is over and hse has to leave and be it."  
  
"I don't want Aiyana-san to leave and be it," Nanami said.  
  
"We can't tell nobody," Manami said. "Gotcha."  
  
Masaya gave the girls a thumbs-up sign and shot a look at Izumi. She mimicked a pair of fingers zipping over her lips. Masaya smiled and Izumi felt her heart soar.  
  
'I was going to...but I'm not. It'll disappoint him so much,' Izumi though unhappily. 'This is only for Masaya-senpai, and not for Aiyana at all! I really hope Aiyana's impressionable...'  
  
The doorbell rang as if on cue, and Masaya went to answer it. "Mama! I can't believe you did this to me!"  
  
"Hey...Izumi-chan! Manami-chan! Nanami-chan!" Minako rattled off the girls' names as they came over to hug her tightly, ignoring her son's incredulity. "Oh, it's good to see you all too. Everything going all right?"  
  
"Mm-hm," said Izumi.  
  
"You're cold...real cold, Aunt Minako!" Manami said excitedly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Cold! Cold!"  
  
Minako started to walk down the hallway towards the stairway.  
  
"Getting warmer!"  
  
"What are you two talking about?" Minako asked, a confused smile on her face.  
  
Masaya slapped his forehead. 'I completely forgot I taught Nanami and Manami how to play Hide-and-go-Seek with the Hot and Cold hints.'  
  
"We're playing a game," Izumi said sweetly. "Come on, sisters, let's go upstairs."  
  
"But...we gotta tell Aunt Minako the hints so that she can find Ai--"  
  
Masaya grabbed the little girl and clapped a hand over her mouth while swinging her in the air. She giggled. "Oh...go upstairs and play with your sisters!" He set her back on the ground and gave the twins a little push. Izumi led them upstairs, flashing a smile at Masaya.  
  
"What was that all about?" Minako asked.  
  
Masaya shrugged.  
  
***  
  
"You owe me one, Masaya-senpai," said Izumi, smiling again as she settled the twins in front of the television screen.  
  
"Hai, I do." Masaya chuckled softly as he lightly ruffled Izumi's short blue hair, a bit darker than her mother's. "Thanks a billion, Izumi."  
  
Aiyana smiled a little, but as she looked away, her smile faded. 'I wasn't able to do much to help Masaya out. I ended up being more of a problem than a help these two days.' She sighed.  
  
"You're welcome." She smiled complacently. Yes, that was a wonderful precursor to her plan. Her smile turned into a smirk, and she bent her head downwards so no one else could see it.  
  
"Aunt Minako never found Aiyana-san," Manami said. "That wasn't a good game of Hide-and-go-Seek."  
  
"Erm...it's a long game," Masaya said. "She'll find her later. It's the longest game in the world."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes, really."  
  
Manami seemed satisfied, and settled back next to her twin sister, quiet again. Television was a good remedy after the afternoon had been riled again.  
  
"Gomen, Aiyana," said Masaya, shaking his head at Aiyana. "I wish my mom would have given more notice. No, she just barges over."  
  
"I'm sorry I had to cause a problem." Aiyana looked to Masaya to deny that she had caused any trouble.  
  
Masaya just shrugged. "Oh, well. I guess the worst of it's over yet..."  
  
Izumi smiled again.  
  
"What did she ask you?" Aiyana asked.  
  
Masaya gave Aiyana a Look, and she swallowed.  
  
***  
  
Aiyana sat down on the bed facing the bureau, brushing her long dark hair out with the brush that had been left on the cherry wood dresser. She wasn't sure whether that brush was always in the guest room or if Ami had purposely left it there for her, but she was sure glad it was there. As she brushed, she looked into the mirror--a gesture she hadn't done in quite some time.  
  
She was gaining weight in other places besides her stomach, that was for sure. Her face looked a bit fatter than it had been before, and she noticed that her feet were a bit swollen the day before...although Masaya had told her sometimes women's feet get even more swollen than hers. That seemed hard to believe...  
  
But she was gaining color and health in her stature. She didn't seem quite so tall anymore, but perhaps that was because she was now balanced out because of the baby's size in her stomach, whereas before she had been tall and slender.  
  
There was a short knock on her door. Aiyana hastily arranged her nightgown modestly. "Come in."  
  
Instead of it being Masaya, as she expected it to be, it was Izumi. She came in with a serene smile on her face, her soft blue hair floating around her face. She really was a pretty young lady. Aiyana smiled.  
  
"Hi, Izumi-san. Do you need something?"  
  
"Oh," Izumi said. "Iie, I just wanted to come in and talk to you a little bit. I'm sorry about all the yelling we did yesterday."  
  
"Oh," said Aiyana, waving her hand a little. She hadn't forgotten about the things Izumi said, but she pushed them aside as the younger girl came in and seated herself on the bed. "It's okay. I guess we both just got a little heated yesterday, that's all."  
  
"Hai." Izumi traced her finger along the bedspread. "So, how pregnant are you?"  
  
"Almost five months. About four and a half, maybe a little over."  
  
"Oh." She smiled. "I figured about that much. You're really beginning to show, you know, and with people being able to feel the baby from outside and stuff...plus you've got the motherhood glow and all."  
  
"What?" Aiyana laughed. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"My mother says it's a very real thing, and she's an obstetrician,"Izumi said, propping herself off the bed with her arms. "It's like this thing that makes pregnant women just look angelic and everything. It's this thing that makes even the ugliest women look beautiful once pregnant; she's got the air of motherhood."  
  
Izumi turned to see Aiyana's reaction to her statement. The older girl frowned, putting down her brush on the table briefly before picking it up again by braiding her hair. "I guess...I've heard of stuff like that before from the hospital. Your mother did mention something about that when talking to me."  
  
"Yeah. Gosh, I think I'd like to have children," Izumi said, rolling over. "They're so cute when they're little. Plus, pregnant women get *all* the extra attention. Special parking places, special care in the hospitals...even certain people start looking at them differently.  
  
"And then they look extra attractive to people who like children." Izumi smiled devilishly. "Especially men, I guess."  
  
Aiyana frowned again and set her brush down for good. 'Where does this girl get her ideas from...they sound almost true. Maybe they are...what is she getting at?'  
  
"I'm not trying to discourage you or anything," Izumi said. "I mean, you could have been really pretty before you got pregnant, but I never saw you, so I wouldn't know."  
  
`Izumi-san didn't see me...but Masaya-sensei did. Has he been paying more attention to me since he found I was pregnant? He didn't visit me as frequently...before. What's going on? How is this girl getting to me the way she is?'  
  
"Aiyana? You aren't saying anything."  
  
Aiyana shook her head and turned around.  
  
"Um...there really was nothing to say, I guess, Izumi-san."  
  
Izumi nodded in satisfaction. "Yeah, I guess not. Anyway, I'm glad you let me vent that out to you...it's been on my mind." She smiled again. "I'm tired, so I'm going to go to bed...Oyasumi nasai, Aiyana-san."  
  
"Oyasumi nasai, Izumi-san." Izumi exited the small guest room.  
  
Aiyana sat down on the bed, a single tear trickling down her cheek.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------  
  
AN: Okay, okay, I know what you're all saying--why would Izumi's comments hurt Aiyana? Well, you gotta remember these things:  
  
-She's never had a crush before, so she's unsure  
  
-She's pregnant, so she's extra-sensitive  
  
-She knows that Izumi knows Masaya well  
  
-She's in a whole new world with different people in it  
  
It's bound to get to her. Don't hate me...besides, Izumi's only 13, so her "perfect" solution may not have been so perfect.  
  
Oyasumi nasai means `good night.'  
  
Argh...I hate HTML tags. They want to work when you put them around thought bubbles, but they don't want to work when you put them around real codes. -_-  
  
Ooh, I want to thank all of my readers, but particularly Miko633. She made me very speculative and inspired me to some of the stuff I use in this chapter...like Izumi's little jabs...I hope I can work the other stuff in ^_~  
  
Comments and flames to the usual, julymoonbunny@hotmail.com 


	13. Last Day

Chapter Thirteen - Last Day  
  
***  
  
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"*Last* day." Masaya sighed heavily as he seated himself on the couch that morning. The house was completely quiet, not a child in sight...even Aiyana was still asleep. He had the morning to himself, thanks to him being an early riser. Masaya sighed blissfully and sat back, relaxing.  
  
The sound of a child-sized footstep made him groan, and he raised one eye towards the staircase. It was Izumi, staring back at him with soft blue eyes, wrapped in a blanket.  
  
"Izumi..." He almost affixed the affectionate suffix to the end before realizing that Izumi would become angry. Kami-sama, he even addressed Princess Usagi Small Lady Serenity with -chan! "Izumi-kouhai, what are you doing up so early?"  
  
She seemed satisfied with the new honorific. "I would ask the same of you, Masaya-senpai."  
  
He smiled gently. Izumi's speech was very mature for her age. "Just enjoying it being quiet for once, that's all."  
  
"What, you mean without Aiyana screaming for help while the twins turn circles around your ankles?" Izumi grinned widely and made her way to the couch, sitting down and curling up in her blanket. It was springtime now, the very beginning of May, but it was still a bit chilly in the mornings before the humidity came in. It was hard to believe time had passed so quickly since that fateful February night that Aiyana had blown in.  
  
"You don't seem to be quite too quiet yourself at times, Izumi-kouhai." He smiled affectionately and ruffled her short hair.  
  
"I can be quiet," Izumi said solemnly, and for a few moments the room was silent, neither of them talking. Finally the teenage girl's face broke into a grin. "But not for long."  
  
Masaya laughed and Izumi smiled adoringly up at the older man. "Masaya-senpai..." Izumi had never had a problem with being shy or afraid to ask questions. "How do you feel about Aiyana?"  
  
Masaya's laughter stopped and he stared down at Izumi. "What do you mean by that question?"  
  
"I meant what I said. How do you feel about her?"  
  
"Like, how I think she's going to do with her pregnancy? I think she'll do fine. She's coming along okay now, as a matter of fact--"  
  
"No, Masaya." Izumi's eyes were urgent as she looked up at Masaya, and he realized that she had left the honorific from his name. He tried to ignore it. "I mean, do you like her? *Like* her?"  
  
"Of course I like her," Masaya said defensively, deliberately eluding the purpose of her question. "She's my patient and I've been taking care of her these past five months. I should like her. Besides, what does it matter to you?"  
  
"It does matter to me," Izumi said, and that was the closest she had ever gotten to straight-out telling Masaya she had a crush on him. She didn't know why she didn't just tell him...she'd never had a problem with being blunt before. But it would be nice if he could just watch her long enough to figure it out himself. The hints she'd been leaving had been pretty damn big.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You're my...you're close to me and my family. Besides, Aiyana-san isn't your patient. She's my mother's."  
  
Masaya's eyes looked hurt at the accusation, and Izumi was almost sorry she said it. "I'm your mother's intern."  
  
"Not any longer, Masaya-senpai...you're on the payroll at the hospital and you're a pediatrician."  
  
"Pediatrics and adolescent care. I'm working alongside Ami with Aiyana. What are you all up in my paycheck for?" he teased, sticking his tongue out at Izumi.  
  
She chuckled a bit, but only because she couldn't help it. "Why does it bother you so much to know that you're not Aiyana's doctor?"  
  
"Because...I've done a lot for her," he said, looking wistfully at the stairwell where Aiyana would be up, sleeping. "I wouldn't want anyone to write it off as just me nosing around. I really wanted to do everything that I've done."  
  
"Well," Izumi started out slowly, "wouldn't it be more practical for you not to stress that you're Aiyana-san's doctor? Then, people would know that you wanted to do it because you're not getting paid for it."  
  
"Yeah...hey, you're right!" Masaya smiled down at Izumi. "You think a lot like your mother."  
  
"Arigatou gozaimasu," said Izumi, pleased. She saw that as a compliment, seeing how much Masaya admired her mother.  
  
"She's really quite useless," Izumi said, chuckling.  
  
"What?" Masaya looked sharply down at Izumi.  
  
Aiyana froze on the stairs. 'I'm *what*?!'  
  
"I *said*, she's really quite useless, isn't she?" Izumi smiled charmingly at Masaya. "Masaya-senpai, she spills everything all over the floor, she can't cook, and she got into a fight with me the first day. Don't you remember that? What was she over here for, if she didn't watch anyone? She was more of a hindrance than a help. Why did you bring her over here?"  
  
For a moment Masaya couldn't answer, but a moment was all Aiyana needed to hear Izumi's hurtful words and believe that Masaya's silence was an unwitting agreement with them. 'Useless! I'm just useless to him...he's probably wondering the same, thing, why the hell he invited me to come with him anyway. I just caused more trouble for him than...than Izumi-san herself!' She turned and quietly ascended the staircase again, only beginning to run once she reached the top and couldn't be heard.  
  
"She's not. Yesterday she helped a lot." Now Masaya's voice took on a defensive tone for Aiyana. "She helped at breakfast, answered the phone, and even though she had to run upstairs for a bit--"  
  
"To hide from your mother," Izumi added. "Why was she hiding, Masaya-senpai? Your mother doesn't like her?"  
  
"She wouldn't approve of her being over here with me, and I'd rather hide than explain, that's all, Izumi-kouhai," said Masaya, annoyed at Izumi's turn of conversation. "You are a nosy little thing, aren't you?"  
  
"Just inquisitive."  
  
"You've inquired enough," Masaya said. "Now either hush or go back to bed!"  
  
Izumi sat back in the couch, struggling not to smile. For she, unlike Masaya, had heard the footsteps on the staircase, and they were much too heavy to be either of the twins'.  
  
***  
  
"Aiyana?"  
  
Aiyana clutched the comforter closer to her body and tried her hardest to ignore the urge to sniffle back the tears as she heard Masaya's voice at the doorway. She'd just noticed that Masaya often left off all use of an honorific with her name. Hearing Izumi's argument with Masaya earlier about the use of an honorific, she realized they must indicate some sort of relationship with the bearer...she'd just called Masaya '-sensei'- because that was the name she'd heard given to professionals. Learning Japanese in the Empire, she realized, she must have forgotten a lot.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Are you getting up anytime soon, sleepyhead?" he teased softly, smiling at her hunched figure on the bed. His smile faded when she didn't stir, and he heard a muffled sound from beneath the light blue comforter.  
  
"No."  
  
"No?" Masaya frowned. "You're supposed to be helping me, not curled underneath your bedspread all warm while I'm up here with the children."  
  
"I don't *feel* well." Aiyana enuciated each word sharply and tried to burrow even deeper into the bed. A fresh tear was making it's way steadily down her cheek.  
  
"Oh." Masaya sighed. "Well, I'm sorry. I hope you feel better, Aiyana...I'm going downstairs. Please call me if you need anything."  
  
Aiyana called something back that Masaya assumed was a yes, and he left the room.  
  
'Is it a full moon out tonight or something?' Masaya thought, scratching his head as he stared back at the closed door. What was it with all the females in the house acting strangely? Aiyana he could forgive; she was pregnant, after all. But even pregnant women weren't this moody...or were they? He was twenty-one when Ami had been pregnant with the twins, twenty-two when Rei became pregnant with Yuriko. Ami was complaisant and very gentle. Rei...was not. He supposed it varied in women, and with someone who had been through as much as Aiyana had been through...it would probably good that she cried and became bitchy sometimes. She needed to vent her feelings somehow.  
  
But Izumi...the girl had always been rather blunt, but generally likeable. In the same night as she had met someone new, she'd gotten into an argument with her. For the life of him Masaya couldn't understand why Izumi didn't like Aiyana. Perhaps it was female clashing or something like that, but *what* were they clashing over? They didn't have anything in common, of course...but he'd hoped that Izumi would like Aiyana and look up to her. That way he'd have testimony if Aiyana...were ever to apply for asylum on Earth.  
  
Masaya was embarrassed to admit, even to himself, that he had often daydreamed about Aiyana living on Earth. He had no idea why the idea seemed so tantalizing to him...there was nothing he could have to do with Aiyana if she chose to stay. She'd live on her own, be on her own...but perhaps the thrill was being able to look over a child that he'd known since his mother's womb. Although Aiyana had started calling the child a her, Masaya insisted on calling it a him and secretly hoped it would be a male child, although he had no idea why.  
  
In his deepest heart of hearts, he supposed he wished he could grow closer to Aiyana and her child...as if he weren't already close enough already, and it weren't bringing him a world of trouble! Truthfully, he had felt his heart jump like a child on Christmas Eve with anticipation when Aiyana said she could feel her baby move inside her. And when Nanami-chan had attested to the fact that it was perceptible outside...it took all his willpower to stop himself from laying his hand on Aiyana's stomach and feeling it himself.  
  
The truth was, he couldn't imagine why he was so excited about this seventeen-year-old girl's baby. She was not related to him; she wasn't one of his surrogate cousins or aunts. And he wasn't...he wasn't...he wasn't falling...falling for her, was he?  
  
"No, that's silly." His own voice startled and him and scorned him. Baka. He didn't even sound convincing to his own ears.  
  
'It must just be my love for children, though, he insisted to himself. There's no way...I mean, Aiyana has been here for almost five months...and yet, that still doesn't seem long enough. Yes, I care for her, but not quite in that way...  
  
I don't...'  
  
***  
  
Aiyana stared into the bathroom mirror and rubbed her eyes. The whites looked white again, not bloodshot red, and with a little washing she had washed the reminder that she had been crying from her face carefully. She shook her head a little, mimicking a gesture she'd often seen Masaya doing.  
  
Useless, was she? She'd show Masaya--and Izumi--that she could be of some use. She'd help Masaya make a meal while Izumi watched her younger sisters--not the other way around, for once. After all, that was what she was here for, right? If Izumi could watch the children and cook at the same time Ami would not have asked Masaya and she to come over.  
  
She smiled as she thought of it. She was no chef, that was quite clear. But she could at least try to put something together to help him. Perhaps she would make the dessert this time...at the thought of replicating the delicious cake Masaya had made Friday night, Aiyana wet her lips. Yummy. Could she do something like that?  
  
She struggled to smile at her reflection. The only way to find out was to try!  
  
She pulled at the cute overalls and pink shirt she wore underneath and bounded down the stairs as energetically as a four-and-a-half-months-pregnant woman could. It was a little after lunchtime--she'd fallen asleep earlier and slept for longer than expected--and Masaya started dinner early, especially since Ami and her husband would be returning that evening.  
  
Sure enough, there he was, in the kitchen preparing the food. Izumi was alongside, looking like a little kitchen hand, dashing about and getting things for him and occasionally peeking at the preoccupied twins.  
  
"May I help?" Aiyana asked, smiling a little. "I know I bumbled along last time, but I can try again. Please?"  
  
Izumi and Masaya looked up at her. Izumi's face took on a nasty twist as she turned away, but Masaya's eyes softened as he looked at Aiyana. Even pregnant as she was, she appeared so innocent! "Of course you can help, Aiyana. Izumi can watch the kids fully now, so it's a good thing you woke up."  
  
Izumi grudgingly wiped her hands and stalked out of the kitchen to where the twins were at.  
  
"Here, you can..." Masaya looked down at the tools in his hand. He was about to tell Aiyana she could peel the potatoes, but he thought better of it and set the sharp paring knife and potatoes aside. "You can make the lasagna. Here, I'll show you."  
  
He took her through the instructions of the lasagna, telling her exactly how much ricotta and mozzerella cheese to put on top of the shells so it would melt to cheesy perfection. Aiyana smiled as he described the steps. 'Cooking is the only thing that I've seen him so passionate about--besides being a doctor, of course.'  
  
His hands flew as he described more. "And you can do all that sitting down, you know," said Masaya. "Which is what I want you to do. Sit down so that you don't hurt yourself."  
  
Aiyana made a face. 'Does he still think I'm some sort of danger--even to my own self?'  
  
Masaya saw the face she made and laughed. "I'm not trying to say that you're incompetant of doing things yourself," he said, chuckling. "I just don't want you to hurt yourself--or the baby inside you. Remember, you've got two people to worry about now, okay?"  
  
Aiyana nodded, but she wasn't completely satisfied.  
  
The two of them worked quietly in the kitchen for a while, not speaking to each other. Aiyana let the tip of her tongue hang from her mouth as she concentrated. 'How much ricotta did he say to add ...one or two cups? How could I have forgotten so quickly...oh, I remember,' she thought ruefully. "Placenta brains".'  
  
***  
  
"Michiru..." Haruka looked up at her brooding lover as she stared through the window of the small apartment they chose to share, instead of living in a large home as the Senshi had chosen. "What are you thinking about?"  
  
"Hotaru," she admitted, turning back to Haruka with misty dark eyes. Haruka raised her eyebrows and turned away. She didn't want to hear the hurt in Michiru's voice again.  
  
But she continued. "Haruka, I still don't believe that she would just leave on her own will like that," she said, shaking her head. "There must have been something that made her leave. Remember she aged? She had just aged to her teenage years. She wouldn't have left us on her own, Haruka..."  
  
"She disappeared after the fights," Haruka said, conceding to join the conversation. "Directly after we were finished fighting this new enemy and Crystal Tokyo came to rising. She didn't even stay to see the king and queen inaugurated and crowned, the christening of Chibi-usa..."  
  
"Who was she with?" Michiru asked suddenly.  
  
"What do you mean, who was she with?"  
  
"During the fights. Remember we ended up breaking up into groups of two? It was you and the moon brat..." Haruka smiled at the affectionate name the two Outers had assigned Sailormoon. "And Sailormercury and I. I don't know who Setsuna was with..."  
  
"None of us were with any other of us," Haruka said, meaning the Outers as a group. Michiru nodded.  
  
"So that means that Hotaru, as Sailorsaturn during the battles, was with either Sailorvenus or Sailorjupiter."  
  
"Or Tuxedo Kamen," Haruka added.  
  
Suddenly Michiru sat up straight, her eyes flying open. "Tuxedo Kamen!" She turned and looked at Haruka. "I need to see that assassin at the hospital as *soon* as possible. She may hold the key..." Michiru's eyes filled with tears. "She may hold the key to finding Hotaru again, Haruka."  
  
***  
  
Aiyana steadied her shaking hand and mixed the batter vehemently. Since she started the lasagna and had the food in the oven now, she wanted to make a sweet cake for the girls--and she and Masaya--to eat for dessert...and she wanted to make it all on her own.  
  
She had painstakingly taken down Masaya's recipe for something called a "red velvet" cake, him having said that she along with everyone else would definitely enjoy the sweet confection. After checking to make sure Ami had all the ingredients, she had combined them and was now mixing the batter. She smiled, very happy at the way things had turned out. This cake would be perfect...and that would be step one to proving how helpful and self-sufficient she could truly be.  
  
She hummed a little tune as she worked. She had no idea where she had heard it from, but it was a cute little tune, tinkling and melodious. She'd known that little tune ever since she was a young girl, and she'd often hummed it to get herself to sleep in the barracks back in the Empire, especially if she were feeling alone or hurt. The tune held some sort of warm security for Aiyana, made her try to push away her troubles. And whenever she listened to it, winding itself from her own lips, it made her dream sweet dreams even after the most brutal attacks.  
  
She nearly smiled as she remembered that she was once a military denizen, a trained assassin. At least, back then she hadn't had to prove to anyone she was capable of things. If she did, there was never a doubt when she was finished that First Delta Aiyana Khalidah was no innocuous little machine.  
  
First Delta...hearing the words in her mind, Aiyana grimaced. She probably wasn't First Delta any longer; after an almost four-month (or 2.8 ikkagetsu, she thought after quickly converting) absence without reporting back she had probably lost her position to the Second Delta, and an Epsilon had been moved up. She was almost sure of this fact.  
  
And yet, she was surprised to realize that she didn't care. Instead of a worried, stressed, devastated reaction, she found only peace--soft peace in the pit of her stomach. She was free...she was finally free of the hell the other men had given her, free of the endless training and missions, free of the stress of keeping secrets...free from seeing things that no one, especially not a seventeen-year-old girl, should ever have to see.  
  
"Aiyana...are you okay in there?" Masaya peeked his head around the kitchen doorway. He had done so several times, since he was in the living room with the twins and Izumi and she was working alone in the kitchen.  
  
"Absolutely fine," said Aiyana, and she smiled joyously to herself.  
  
***  
  
"Mmmm, it smells goooooood, Masaya-san!" Manami yelled, jumping up and down. "Can I help you take it out?"  
  
"It's very hot," Masaya said. "I don't want you to get hurt or anything. Perhaps you'd better just wait till I call you in."  
  
"Do you need any help, Masaya-senpai?" Izumi asked, peering up at Masaya's face.  
  
He shot a look at Aiyana. She was smiling dreamily as she checked the oven's contents. "No, Izumi-chan, I think Aiyana and I can handle it," he said. He went to the kitchen, oblivious to the fact that he'd once again accidentally addressed Izumi with '-chan.'  
  
Izumi fumed.  
  
In the kitchen, Aiyana was gleefully surveying her efforts with the microwave. She'd successfully removed the heated mashed potatoes from the microwave oven. Masaya smiled as he watched her carefully place it on a trivet on the table.  
  
"Almost done," she said. "The only thing we need to get out is the lasagna and the cake."  
  
Masaya smiled. "Your cake is finished?"  
  
"Hai, it's on the bottom rack."  
  
Masaya went over to the oven and checked the lasagna. He pulled two more oven mitts from Ami's drawer under the stove (and wondered why she had more than two, seeing as Ami and Mitsuru didn't do much cooking together) and pulled the lasagna out of the oven.  
  
Aiyana moved behind him, reaching in towards the bottom rack and grasped the cake, pulling it out. Her arm grazed the hot oven surface, causing her to jerk back her arms in pain.  
  
Unfortunately, the cake did not move back with her.  
  
The scene almost seemed to be slow motion. Aiyana watched in horror as the cake--the cake she had labored hard over to make all on her own--went crashing to the floor, top-first. Being hot, it didn't hold well, but rather crumbled to pieces on contact.  
  
Masaya almost dropped his own dish when he heard the clatter of the cake pan on the floor. Quickly he put the lasagna down on two more trivets and rushed over to do damage control.  
  
However, it seemed that the spilled cake was the lesser of the two problems...the one most damaged at that particular moment was Aiyana. Her eyes had dilated so drastically that only a thin ring of blue could be seen around the pupil, and she had gone white as a sheet. Masaya spotted the burn forming on her arm.  
  
"Aiyana," said Masaya gently, taking hold of her hand, "you've burned yourself! Come on, you've got to get this under cold water--"  
  
Aiyana took the hand Masaya was holding and used it cover her face, then burst into sobs.  
  
Oh, no..."Aiyana, please don't cry...Aiyana, we can make another cake! Please, stop crying. It's okay...it's okay..."  
  
"It's not the cake!" she sobbed. "I never do anything right! That's the reason I'm even here in the first place, because I never do anything right! I couldn't carry out my mission, couldn't see the truth behind the Omegas' lies, couldn't make macaroni and cheese yesterday, couldn't take care of the children. I try for just one day to try and do something right...make a cake...and I dropped it!" Her sobs turned into a wail. "Why can't I ever do anything right?!"  
  
Masaya took Aiyana's hand and gently led her over to a chair, then pulled up one across from hers. "Aiyana..." He was about to tell her to stop crying, until he realized it was probably good for her to cry...good for her to let out all those bottled emotions. He merely held her hand and looked at her.  
  
For some reason, that only seemed to make her anguish worse. "And you know it," she said miserably. "You think I'm useless and stupid too. That's why you wouldn't say anything...you don't want to deny the truth."  
  
"What?!" Masaya snapped his head down to look at Aiyana. "That's not true at all! Where did you ever get that idea from?"  
  
"You don't," said Aiyana. "You didn't say anything...and you were here all weekend. You watched me make a stupid fool of myself."  
  
"Aiyana," Masaya said, "I never thought you were a 'stupid fool', not for one moment!" Masaya shook his head vehemently and brought Aiyana's chin up to look at him. "Not for a second. It doesn't matter to me; it's just a cake, and everyone makes mistakes. I'd rather you drop that cake than you get burned even worse than you had!"  
  
Aiyana, who had dropped her eyes from Masaya's stare, looked up again. She had the sudden urge to say "Really?" like all the clichéd movie star females...just to see if what she thought would happen next...  
  
But it turned out she didn't even have to say anything at all, because in the next moment, Masaya's lips were on hers, and she forgot everything about movies and dropped cakes and failed missions...just the knowledge of what it felt like to have her first real, true kiss.  
  
It was short, very short, because Masaya pulled back, embarrassed at his hasty actions. Before he could pull back too far, though, Aiyana's clutch on his sleeves tightened, and she let out a soft, pleading whimper.  
  
Chuckling softly, he finished what he had started.  
  
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AN: All right, you guys, I'm a horrible cook. I don't know anything about cooking. I'm telling you, have you ever heard that Jay-Z song called "Girls, Girls, Girls"? My friends labeled me "that model chick who don't cook or clean". I can't cook. Well, a little bit, but not enough to know how to make everything I said. I have a vague idea about these things, but I surely don't know how to make a vanilla cake from scratch, much less a red velvet one, so if anything seems really out of order, e-mail me and I'll change it...maybe.  
  
Now, again I'm not trying to insult anyone's intelligence in here...but in case you don't know, a trivet is one of those little things that you put a hot pan on so it doesn't burn your table or countertop or whatever. There was something else in here I wasn't sure you'd know, but I can't remember it right now...  
  
Oh, I want to apologize a million times over for something...one of my readers complained that it was hard to keep the Senshi's husbands straight. That's partly my own fault. The Senshi had some really generic names until I changed them all, but when I transferred the chapters over from my upload files, I forgot to change the names on some. *ooops* I'm really sorry if I caused a lot of confusion, but for your better knowledge:  
Mitsuru is Ami's husband, Sadayoshi is Minako's husband, Ieyasu is Makoto's husband, and Sanetoki is Rei's husband.  
  
Sorry.  
  
Oh! I remembered! More with the honorifics. The honorifics "-senpai," "-kouhai," and "-sensei" are actually also words. A senpai ("-sempai" is actually more correct) is a social senior--you'd use it for someone older than you, usually in a school or mentor-mentee setting. The opposite is a kouhai. A kouhai is a social junior--someone younger than you. A senpai is sort of like a mentor; upperclassmen (senpai) in Japan are expected to help out their underclassmen (kouhai), even after they've graduated from school. Your senpai will always be your senpai and vice versa. By Izumi and Masaya addressing each other with senpai and kouhai, it implies a mentor-mentee relationship, and makes Izumi sound a bit more equal to Masaya than "-chan" will.  
  
Sensei is most often translated to "teacher" but that's such a simplified view...a sensei actually can be any professional who works for the betterment of people. It originated with dojo masters, and implicates a sort of reverence for the one addressed as such. Sensei is not to be taken lightly. Like kouhai and senpai, sensei is for life...your sensei will always be addressed as sensei, even if you see them years after you graduate from that sensei's class. Lawyers, policemen, physicians (^_^) can also be addressed as a sensei...it's basically a professional term. It literally translates to "before life" so I suppose you can get the basic idea.  
  
Any more questions or comments, send 'em my way at julymoonbunny@hotmail.com 


	14. Not Everything Stands Forever

Chapter Fourteen – Not Everything Stands Forever  
  
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***  
  
Aiyana lay back in her hospital bed, thoroughly refreshed. It had been a long weekend, hard won, but she had lived through it and got a reward—not too small, either—for her endurance.  
  
Her smile went dreamy when she remembered the feeling of her first kiss. Butterflies started flitting in her stomach like never before, and she knew that it had nothing to do with the baby, even though she had started kicking soon after Masaya pulled away. No, these were different butterflies…soft and not unlike the ones she had felt when Masaya first looked into her eyes, yet a hundred times more intense.  
  
The happiness was somewhat lessened when she saw a blue flash move away from the doorway of the kitchen. She just barely caught the look on Izumi's face, and it was one that she was not unfamiliar with…jealousy.  
  
Suddenly the puzzle pieces clicked in place and Aiyana felt like a fool all over again. Izumi liked Masaya; she had a crush on him.  
  
Now, she thought, perhaps she shouldn't have berated herself as she did. After all, since Masaya continuously called Ami "Aunt Ami" and referred to the children as his cousins, it was hard for Aiyana to remember that they were not really related. Obviously, though, Izumi was very aware of the fact.  
  
Masaya, however, seemed oblivious. After they cleaned up the cake remnants, he had called the twins in the kitchen for a quick dessert emergency, and they'd spent the time waiting for Ami and Mitsuru making cookie-cutter shapes in the dough they rolled out. By the time the Amesuinos made it home, they had a batch in the oven and were eating dinner, Izumi included this time.  
  
She was very quiet through the dinner, and excused herself early.  
  
On the way home in Masaya's car, she had asked him about it.  
  
"Masaya-sensei, you know you're not really Izumi-san's cousin, right?"  
  
He'd laughed. "Of course I know that," he said. "Sometimes I forget, though."  
  
"She doesn't."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"She likes you, Masaya-sensei."  
  
"I know."  
  
"You do?" Aiyana peered up at him. Perhaps he was more perceptive than she thought.  
  
"Oh, you mean…" Scratch perceptive. Masaya reddened a little and kept his eyes on the road. "How do you know?"  
  
"I could kind of tell. I mean, it's a little obvious." She said the last part with indignance for Izumi's sake. Was the man blind?  
  
"It is?" He resisted the urge to chuckle. "Well…I guess I never contemplated the fact that she could. I mean, we're all so close…like cousins, aunts, uncles, just like we call each other. Ami, my mom, and my two other aunts—Rei and Mako—they worked together when they were younger, and they got really close. So it was only natural for us to grow up close. I've always seen Izumi-chan as my little cousin, not much more, just like I see Hitomi and Megami—those are Rei and Mako's daughters and they're about the same age." Masaya paused, then looked at Aiyana. "But I guess that explains why she was acting so strange this weekend."  
  
Aiyana looked down at her fingernails. "If you only see your thirteen-year- old cousin like that…" She looked back up at him. "I'm only four years older than them, and you're…nearly seven Earth years older than me. That's a lot here, isn't it? So how do you see me?"  
  
"Kami-sama," cried Masaya. That was not a question he wanted to answer. He could barely answer it to his own self, much less to the object of his dilemma. "It's different. I was eleven years old when they were born. I remember their mothers being pregnant with them, for kami-sama's sake."  
  
Aiyana had not asked anymore on the matter, a little smile on her face.  
  
There was a short knock on the hospital room door. Rather than be surprised by the entrant, Aiyana applied a new phrase she had learned for answering the door. "Who is it?"  
  
"Ami."  
  
"Come in, Dr. Amesuino-sensei."  
  
Ami burst in, looking harried. But she smiled. "Konnichi wa, Aiyana, how're you feeling today?"  
  
"Just fine," said Aiyana, smiling again.  
  
Ami smirked. "What happened?" she said. "You've never smiled quite like that before."  
  
Aiyana shook her head, blushing.  
  
"Could this sudden happiness have anything to do with my daughter's glumness, apparently acquired sometime this weekend?"  
  
"Hai, it could…" Aiyana looked back up, eyes sparkling. "But I'm not telling you."  
  
"He kissed you, didn't he?"  
  
"How did you guess?" Aiyana asked incredulously, blushing furiously.  
  
"Only thing that could have happened. I mean, Masaya would never…not while you're pregnant, at least…" Ami eyed Aiyana, but she was just confused. The doctor smirked again. "Anyway, Izumi-chan probably saw it, and got a little jealous, hmm?"  
  
Aiyana nodded, feeling bad…bad and happy at the same time, if that was possible.  
  
"Yes, I figured something like that might have happened. I know my daughter, and I know my nephew."  
  
"Is Izumi-san all right?" Aiyana asked timidly. She felt like a heel.  
  
Ami waved a hand. "Oh, she'll be fine. She'll get over it. Teenagers always do, after a while; they have this emotional resiliency that no one else can have." Ami smiled. "And about you. How do you feel?"  
  
"I didn't want to make Izumi-san sad…"  
  
"About yourself, honey. I tell you, Izumi will be fine."  
  
Aiyana nodded. "Great, I guess," she said, letting her shyness evaporate at the remembrance of it. "The butterflies, the heat, the blushing, just like all the little clichés say."  
  
"What do you know about that?"  
  
"We had clichés on Proximi, too, Dr. Amesuino-sensei," said Aiyana, giggling a little. "The girls talked about it a lot. A lot of them got taken advantage of by the older military men, but when they talked about first kisses, boy did they talk."  
  
"And you were let in on these conversations?" Ami raised an eyebrow.  
  
Aiyana smiled. "I was sort of a listener," she said. "I couldn't very well participate…I had no idea what they were talking about. I didn't even know what a crush was. I couldn't grasp the concept of liking someone so much you obsessed over them." Aiyana sighed. "It was as if my emotions had been removed from me for five years."  
  
"Five?"  
  
"The farthest back I can remember was twelve, and I was in the military then."  
  
Ami nodded. "Oh, I remember what I came in here to tell you about," she said, and looked gravely at Aiyana. "Two of my comrades want to talk to you."  
  
Aiyana's eyes widened.  
  
"They just want to question you. They've promised that anything they tell you will remain a secret…they won't even tell the other Senshi, just as I've promised you." Ami stared at Aiyana. "They are definitely going to keep their promise, you won't need to worry about that. Tenoh Haruka and Kaioh Michiru are two of the most trustworthy people in the world." Ami looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. "I don't know why they want to question you and keep what they find a secret, but…each one to their own, I guess. Perhaps for the same reason I choose to keep what I find out from you a secret.  
  
"It's very hard…the other Inner Senshi, my comrades, are like sisters to me. We've grown up together, been through many hard times together, bonded throughout time. When I was younger, I used to be a nerd." Ami smiled as she remembered her younger days in the seventh and eighth grades, finally moving to high school. "I was a nerd, yes, just transferred to a new school from the 'brain factory' as they called the elite academy I went to. No one wanted to be friends with me…until I met Usagi-chan." She smiled wistfully. "That's the queen, you know."  
  
Aiyana winced. She'd once tried to kill one of her mentor's best friends? And Ami had completely forgiven her of it, even let her into her home to watch her children. She wondered at human trust and the development of it.  
  
"Then," Ami continued, "Usagi introduced me to each of the new friends she made—Rei, Makoto, and Minako. Those are each of my soul-sisters, the Inner Senshi. We all swore to protect Usagi-chan, because she was the force that had brought us together, and we're still sworn to that promise to this day." Ami smiled. "In return, Usagi removed a…I don't suppose you could say a curse…she removed a pending prophecy from our lives."  
  
"What was it?" Aiyana asked, very curious about Ami's past life."  
  
"It was the promise that we would never find true love," Ami said, smiling again. "That our lives would be forever devoted to protecting Usagi-chan. She was horrified, so she quickly took the spell off of us, using the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou…the powerful, magical silver crystal that's been in her family for millennia. Since the prophecy was removed, our now- husbands, who had been former enemies and died, were reawakened inside the tiny little stones Mamoru-san—that's King Endymion—used to carry around in his pocket. To make a long story short, their spirits eventually reunited with their present-day bodies, we found them, fell in love all over again, and married them."  
  
"That's so romantic," Aiyana said, and was surprised to hear the words slip from her own mouth. She'd heard other girls say that trite line, but never expected to say it herself.  
  
"Hai, it is," said Ami, smiling dreamily as she remembered. "And then we started families here in Crystal Tokyo. So now we all have children. You've met my three; Minako has two, Masaya and his younger sister; Rei has five—bless her and Sanetoki-san's strong hearts—and Mako has three, like me. But her two young girls aren't twins and they're older than mine. Usagi-chan only has one daughter, Princess Usagi Small Lady Serenity—or just plain Usa-chan, like we call her.  
  
"Also, something peculiar happened. We all happened to have a daughter around the same time. It was Rei-chan first, with her daughter Hitomi- chan; then Minako-chan got pregnant with Emi-chan. Then Mako-chan with Megami-chan, and me with Izumi-chan, and finally Usagi-chan with Usa-chan, the princess."  
  
"Well, since you are important power figures now, don't you think that time and space would find some way to replace you once you…leave this world?" Aiyana said.  
  
"That's what we thought at first, too," said Ami, wrinkling her brow, "but you see, the power of Usagi-chan's crystal made us all immortal, or at least live for a very, very long time, when we wouldn't need Sailor Senshi. And the prophecy also said that the Neo Moon Kingdom—the kingdom that now rules Crystal Tokyo and the Earth—would never fade, would be strong because Usagi-chan was able to defeat a curse placed on her."  
  
"You think that with all the curse-reversing, that blessing might have been reversed, too?" Aiyana said. "Not everything stands forever."  
  
Ami nodded gravely at Aiyana's wise comment. "I'll remember that," she said. "Anyway, you still haven't accepted Michiru-san and Haruka-san's interview with you. Will you, or won't you?"  
  
Aiyana comtemplated it. She didn't want anyone besides Ami and Masaya to know her predicament; they'd say she was lying and she was weak, she only wanted sympathy because she had been caught, and that she had gotten 'knocked up' of her own accord. She would have no reputation on Earth whatsoever, and might not even have been considered for the slightest chance of staying.  
  
Yet, Ami seemed to trust the two's promises, so she should too…since Ami trusted her, and she was legitimate. Aiyana had a very great respect, almost reverence, for Amesuino Ami. Ami seemed to respect these two people, so perhaps Aiyana should, too.  
  
"I will," she said, nodding. "I want to see what they have to say."  
  
***  
  
"Dr. Amesuino-san says that the assassin will talk to us," Michiru said, her expression somewhat a mix between awe and happiness.  
  
"She must not have much to hide, then…because I know that, if Ami cares about this girl, she's probably prepped her for our questioning."  
  
Michiru nodded, pushing open the doors to the Crystal Tokyo Hospital. She'd never been there before…she and Haruka had few health problems. She might have come a few days after the attacks to be tended to, but she couldn't remember that if she did.  
  
Ami met then at the door. "Konnichi wa, Michiru-san, Haruka-san. Come upstairs; Aiyana's room is on the sixth floor. Top floor. Let's go."  
  
Silently, Michiru and Haruka followed Ami to the elevator, taking it up and following her to the pediatrics/adolescent care ward on the sixth floor. She paused before the door, knocking on it.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Aiyana-san, it's me, Ami," Ami said. "I've got the two I told you I was bringing to the hospital to talk to you. Can we come in?"  
  
"Yes." Ami turned the doorknob and entered. Although she did not seem surprised to see Masaya seated in a chair next to the hospital bed where Aiyana was sitting, Haruka and Michiru were, and they exchanged glances behind her back.  
  
Masaya seemed just as surprised to see them. His eyes widened. "Tenoh- san, Kaioh-san." Since they were not nearly as close as Rei, Mako, and Ami to his family, he didn't call them by an affectionate family title.  
  
"Masaya-kun, Michiru-san and Haruka-san are going to talk to Aiyana for a little bit, okay?" Ami raised an eyebrow at him in a gesture he was familiar with. Masaya nodded and stood up. He smiled at Aiyana a little, nodded and exited after Ami.  
  
Michiru took the seat he had been in, and Haruka stood by the chair. Aiyana stared back at them. Her faced was a little flushed—she had blushed visibly when Masaya smiled at her—but her eyes were as solemn as the two she faced.  
  
"What did she say your name was?" Haruka finally asked.  
  
"Ai—Khalidah Aiyana." She presented her name in the Japanese way, surname first.  
  
"Ah. My name is Tenoh Haruka and this—" she gestured to the woman seated in the chair beneath her. "—is Kaioh Michiru."  
  
Aiyana nodded. The one in the chair was most certainly a woman, but the one standing up Aiyana was not quite sure about. When Ami said that two of her comrades were coming, Aiyana had assumed that meant two females were coming to talk to her. But the one standing up next to the chair was dressed in comfortable, masculine clothes; had short hair cropped close to his or her head; and looked decidedly male. Yet, there was a strange quality about him or her that made him or her seem female.  
  
She was grateful Terrans used unisex suffixes instead of sexually oriented prefixes.  
  
"Kaioh-san and Tenoh-san." She nodded. "I think Masaya-sensei did say your names already."  
  
"Yes. I noticed you caught that." Michiru stared back at the girl. She was very pretty, and those eyes…those eyes, she had realized, resembled the eyes of King Endymion uncannily. He was the former Tuxedo Kamen. And when Haruka said that earlier, it clicked in her mind.  
  
So a girl with the eyes of Endymion and the everything else of Hotaru…did that mean what she thought it did?  
  
"I don't mean to sound too personal, Khalidah-kun…let me just tell you a little about us first." Whatever gender Haruka was, Haruka seemed to be taking the lead. "We're both members of the queen's guard at the palace, but probably more importantly, we're separated from the Inner Senshi. That's Ami and her three comrades, which includes Koikokoro Masaya's mother. We're more powerful than the four of them. But we're also apart from them…"  
  
"…which means that what you tell us, is safe with us," Michiru finished. "For our own reasons we've decided not to discuss with anyone else what we're asking you about."  
  
"I'm sure you trust and respect Dr. Amesuino-san very much for all that she's done for you." Haruka stared at Aiyana. "She'd be the first to testify that we keep our word."  
  
"She's told me already that you're worth my trust."  
  
"Good." Haruka shifted her weight uncomfortably.  
  
"One of you can sit here if you want to."  
  
"Great." Michiru moved to the bed, and Aiyana slid over. Haruka took the seat where Michiru had once been sitting. Aiyana was glad that Michiru decided to move; she wasn't sure she would be comfrotable with serious- sounding Tenoh Haruka sitting next to her on the bed. Michiru seemed kinder and more benevolent.  
  
"So, when Haruka says that she doesn't mean to sound too personal," said Michiru, settling Aiyana's qualms about Haruka's gender, "it means that we are going to be asking a lot of personal questions about you. All about you."  
  
"Where were you born?" Haruka asked abruptly.  
  
Aiyana stared at her.  
  
"Perhaps that question should be asked, were you born in Crystal Tokyo?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Were you born close to Crystal Tokyo?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Do you know who your parents are?"  
  
"No."  
  
This was not getting them anywhere. Michiru already felt a little frustrated. "So your parents died when you were young?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"What do you mean, you don't know?" Haruka demanded.  
  
"Look…" Aiyana turned away from both of them, staring out of the small window in her hospital room. "I don't know much of anything about my past. My birth and early life records were falsified where I'm from, and I found out that pretty much everything they've told me were lies. Worst of all, I don't remember anything about myself before the age of about eleven or twelve. So ask me anything before that and I won't have an answer for you."  
  
Haruka followed Aiyana's eyes to the window, and a new thought came up in her mind. "You have a window there. Why haven't you tried to escape?"  
  
"I don't want to escape," she said sharply, meeting eyes with Haruka. "Besides," she said in a softer tone, looking down at her stomach, "it'd be pretty hard for me to escape like this."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Like this." She pulled down the blanket that had been wrapped around her.  
  
It was a good thing Haruka and Michiru were discreet, because their jaws would've dropped to the floor if they were any of the younger Inner Senshi. Being older and wiser, their eyes merely widened, staring speechlessly at the protrusion in Aiyana's stomach. The formally slim girl now had the look of a very pregnant young woman.  
  
"You're pregnant?!"  
  
"That's what it looks like," Aiyana said, chuckling. As if to prove her point, the child inside her thumped one of its limbs against the walls of her womb.  
  
"How…how much?"  
  
"About five months."  
  
"Five months?" Haruka looked up in the sky and counted. "You've been here for about that long. They had to have found out as soon as you arrived. And Ami hasn't told anyone?"  
  
"Not a soul. You two, besides her, Masaya-sensei, and me, are the only ones who know."  
  
Michiru and Haruka exchanged some more glances, then stared back at Aiyana's stomach.  
  
"Excuse me if I may seem rude," Michiru said, shaking her head to clear it (it seems that is a popular gesture), "but who is the child's father?"  
  
"It isn't who you think it is," Aiyana said, smiling faintly. "Someone you don't know at all. From where I'm from…well, he was a member of the organization I led. And he was a little jealous of the fact that I, a female, had surpassed him." Aiyana looked sadly back down at her stomach. "So he exercised his vengeance."  
  
Michiru nodded. She understood exactly what Aiyana was talking about, and thought it wise not to ask anymore on the subject. But Haruka, who was a little less intuitive, didn't.  
  
"So why did you decide to keep the child?" she asked.  
  
"I'm…I know this sounds foolish coming from me, but I'm not as bloodthirsty and savage as you all think I am," said Aiyana, her eyes taking on a distrait look. "I have compassion too, and morals. It's not the child's fault I was raped, and I didn't find it right to abort her life for something someone else did to me. And," she added, smiling, "she's been a sweet comfort to me these past months that I've been able to see and feel her."  
  
Haruka turned to Michiru, who merely smiled.  
  
"Khalidah-san," Michiru said eagerly, leaning towards Aiyana, "I've got ideas. Listen. You say you don't know where you're really from because your birth records are falsified; you're not sure of your true parentage or origin. I want to keep this line of communication open."  
  
Aiyana raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I have suspicions," Michiru said, nodding. "Suspicions…I guess I should be forthright with you, since you were being forthright with me. There is someone on this planet that you resemble very greatly…very, very greatly. So greatly…it's very scary."  
  
Aiyana's eyes widened. "So you don't think…"  
  
"We do," said Haruka. "In some way, you might be connected to this person. Michiru also has clairvoyant feelings and she feels things about you and this person that we know about that you look so much like."  
  
"So when I say I want to keep this line of communication open," Michiru said, "it means that I want to have access to what you have to say. You have our honor that we will keep it all strictly confidential…if you promise to tell us the whole truth about everything. In return…we'll help you search for your parents, be you Japanese, American, French, whatever! We'll scour the world to help you find your parents if you help us find our friend."  
  
Aiyana stared back at Michiru, azure eyes intense. "You are very close to this friend, aren't you?"  
  
"Painfully," Haruka supplied, smiling and squeezing Michiru's hand.  
  
"What do you say, Khalidah-san?"  
  
"I say…" Aiyana thought. It was unlikely that Michiru and Haruka would find her parents…they had all the resources on this planet, but she was from a planet three months away at the speed of sound. However, she could feel the intensity of caring they had for this friend. She wondered what she would do if she had lost Ami, and could not find her…or Masaya…  
  
"I will help you, Tenoh-san, Kaioh-san," she said, nodding at the two of them.  
  
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AN: Boo, I can't think of anything to say. Any questions, send 'em straight to me at julymoonbunny@hotmail.com 


	15. Eternal Secrecy Brings Eternal Problems

Chapter Fifteen – Eternal Secrecy Brings Eternal Problems  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
***  
  
"Three ikkagetsu."  
  
"Actually, more like four months, or 2.8 ikkagetsu now, Emperor Omega," said Delta Hojo.  
  
"And how much will hyperspeed expedite this?" Emperor Omega asked.  
  
"About…a month and a half, maybe almost two. Which is about the same as an ikkagetsu and a tenth, maybe a bit more…but it will be extremely uncomfortable, Emperor Omega."  
  
"Yes…so you're saying this hyperspeed thing could get us there in two months' time?" Emperor Omega inquired, ignoring the Delta's latter comment.  
  
"Yes, your highness."  
  
"Well, then," said Omega, smiling largely, "then what are you waiting for? Punch it up!"  
  
"But, your highness—"  
  
"Whatever the damn thing does, it couldn't be much worse than sitting on this damn ship for four months. If I can get there in half the time, why wait? Punch it up. And have that doctor attend to my son, he's fainted." Emperor Omega's expression turned from one of annoyance to one of concern.  
  
"I've attended to him again for this day; he's sleeping now, your highness," said the doctor, stepping from behind. "He said he had a fearful headache and got dizzy. He fell asleep soon after I came to him. He seems to be suffering from…anemia."  
  
***  
  
"Anemia?"  
  
"Yeah, that's what this looks like." Ami was finishing up her five-month check-up for Aiyana's prenatal care, and she was studying a blood sample. "That's when there's a deficiency of iron in the blood, and the count of your red blood cells goes very low. It causes fainting and other bad stuff…"  
  
"So how do I get rid of it?" Aiyana asked, staring down at her stomach. This little thing was really sweet, but she was causing a lot of problems…  
  
"Well, have you been eating any chocolate?"  
  
Aiyana looked guiltily at Ami. The cookies she had made at the Amesuinos' with Masaya had been chocolate chip, and just this morning she'd had a chocolate cereal for breakfast. Her craving seemed to be for chocolate.  
  
"Well, that can't go on…chocolate contains a bit of caffeine, which prevents the absorption of iron. So you'll have to cut down a bit. You also can eat a lot of iron-rich foods which I'll have prepared for you. And if things get too bad, I might prescribe you some iron supplements, but that might make it worse, so I'll wait…"  
  
Aiyana paled. Why did that sound like torture?  
  
"Don't look like that," Ami said, laughing. "It'll be okay. You only have four more months. You're entering the last trimester; it's the end of the stretch. You're at the bottom of the fifth, no outs, no strikes, all three bases covered, and the score is four-nothing."  
  
Aiyana looked blankly at Ami. "What?"  
  
Ami shook her head in amusement. "Never mind," she said, sighing. "So. How's progress going with you and Michiru-san and Haruka-san?"  
  
Now it was Aiyana's turn to sigh. Michiru and Haruka had kept their pledge of secrecy, and already it was about two weeks later…the time had seemed to fly straight out of the window. And yet the two sleuths had found nothing on Aiyana's birth, nor anything having to do with their long-lost friend. However, they had said that Aiyana could fill Ami in, which she did.  
  
But she hadn't told Masaya yet.  
  
"What progress?" she asked rhetorically, leaning back against the hospital bed. She had been moved to the obstetrics ward of the hospital recently, which afforded her a larger bedroom. She sort of missed the old set-up, with its bright colors and sunny astmosphere, since it was built for children. The obstetric room was larger, yes, but it was decorated in pastels and light colors and didn't have the same brilliance as the children's room. "We haven't had much progress yet. They can't find anything about me or their friend.  
  
"Ami, you know they're not going to find anything on me here. I'm not even from this planet."  
  
"Have you told them that yet?" Ami asked.  
  
Aiyana looked away.  
  
"Well, how are they supposed to know their hopes are dim if you don't tell them?" Ami said, sitting down on the chair placed across from Aiyana's bed. "You've got to tell them these things, Aiyana. They may search and search for you. They are two of the most loyal people in the world, and if they promise you something, their promise will be fulfilled."  
  
"You really think so?"  
  
"I do."  
  
"Do you think they will come over here now? I want to tell them right now. So they know right away. I can feel how much they feel about this friend of theirs…"  
  
"You can?" Ami smiled. "How do you think so?"  
  
"Well…" Aiyana looked up to the ceiling momentarily, thinking. "Kaioh-san and Tenoh-san told me that they raised their friend together, by themselves, along with only one other person to help. They feel like they're her parents. And I wondered about how it would feel like to lose my child…and not to be able to find her for years…I would be devastated, and I've only held her inside me for five and a half months! Imagine knowing her for years and losing her then!"  
  
"Well, Aiyana," said Ami, smiling broadly, "it seems as if you've learned two other qualities that human beings possess since you've been here."  
  
"What are those?"  
  
"Empathy and compassion."  
  
***  
  
"So you say you're from another planet?" Michiru asked in incredulous dismay.  
  
"Hai."  
  
Haruka sighed haeavily and leaned back in her chair. "This is incredible," she said.  
  
"Wait! Don't get discouraged. I have something to tell you guys. That's why I asked to stay," said Ami.  
  
"What is it?" Michiru asked, seemingly disinterested.  
  
"Aiyana looks human."  
  
"Well, Dr. Amesuino-sensei, we could tell that ourselves," Haruka said sarcastically, dragging out her title.  
  
"No, that's not what I meant," Ami protested. "I meant, genetically, she looks like a human."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Aiyana asked, raising an eyebrow. "Even if I wasn't born to who I thought I was, I still originated in Andromeda."  
  
"But how could you know that?" Ami said. "I mean, if they lied to you about your parents, they could have lied to you about your origin too. You could be from any other planet…what planet were you born on?"  
  
"My home planet is Schedar."  
  
"So what if you weren't born on Schedar? What if you were born on one of the other planets in the system…or even a planet not in that system…  
  
"Look, I'm just telling you what I see as a doctor. Medically, genetically, you look human. Haven't you noticed any physical differences between you and the people you're from?"  
  
"Well, I'm about average height there," Aiyana said, racking her brain for her features, "but then again I'm tall to you people here. Andromedans and Omegas are particularly taller than Earthians. The way the people's ears look are a little different, too…kami-sama, I never realized half this stuff before! Their ears are different from mine. And their eyes. They're different, too. Everyone always talked about my eyes…"  
  
"They talk about your eyes here, too," Haruka said solemnly, staring thoughtfully at Aiyana.  
  
"My theory, in the beginning," Michiru said, "was that you were a resurrected form of Hotaru. As in, Hotaru died…and was reborn into your body, and that you were brought here to silence this system. In my findings the Senshi would have prevented that silencing by imprisoning you and preventing you from doing what you were sent to do. So my objective would have been to free you and help you do whatever you had to do."  
  
"And let her kill the queen?!" Ami asked incredulously. Aiyana's eyes widened.  
  
"Sometimes silencing is necessary," Haruka intoned.  
  
"Then, Haruka mentioned something about your eyes. She was harping on them."  
  
"I noticed something uncannily familiar about them."  
  
"Hai. At first they were just intriguing because of their unique color and intensity, but then Haruka realized that they look an awful lot like King Endymion's."  
  
Ami gasped loudly. "You can't possibly think…"  
  
Aiyana raised an eyebrow skeptically. "That sounds a little far-fetched, doesn't it? A murderer-assassin from another planet is captured, tamed, and just happens to be the daughter of the king?"  
  
"You said it, not us."  
  
"Shut up, Haruka," Michiru said, half-seriously. "I thought it was far- fetched, too. That's why I didn't say anything or pursue the matter any further…until I thought about it. And saw you again. And realized that Haruka is right…your eyes do bear an uncanny resemblance to King Endymion's."  
  
"This is crazy," Ami cried. "Utterly crazy. You don't actually believe that King Endymion may have committed infidelity with Hotaru, do you?"  
  
Aiyana sucked in a breath as she realized that this was exactly what Haruka and Michiru were implicating. Ami wouldn't hear of it.  
  
"Endymion would have never…" She took a deep breath. "Endymion loves Usagi-chan as much as she loves him! He would never have considered the fact! And with Hotaru-chan, of all people?! This is preposterous!"  
  
"I know, I know," Michiru soothed, trying to calm Ami down. "I know how much King Endymion loves Serenity, and if he were to have a tryst, the most unlikely of people would be Hotaru. It would. I know. We're grasping at straws here, Ami, we really are! I admit it. That's why we really didn't want you to know, and definitely not the others. You have much better judgment and we still didn't want you to know our speculations."  
  
"Think about it," Haruka said, reclining against a desk and dragging the back of her hand across her forehead. "If you had lost Rei-chan, Minako- chan, or Makoto-chan. What would you have done? Wouldn't you be scouring the planet? Wouldn't you look at each little insignificant detail in hopes of finding your lost loved one? Wouldn't you?"  
  
Ami sat down on the hospital bed, rather weakly. "Of course I would," she replied.  
  
"So are we," Michiru said. "Hotaru…you know who she was to us. How close we were."  
  
"So…" said Aiyana, breaking the short moment of silence that ensued Michiru's comment, "if you really thought that the king and this Hotaru person could be my parents—however unbelievable and implausible that might be—couldn't you do some blood tests or something?"  
  
"That could work," Ami said doubtfully, "but we'd need a sample from Endymion and Hotaru to confirm the test. And I have no idea how to get that."  
  
"Hotaru-chan would be impossible," Michiru said sadly.  
  
"But King Endymion wouldn't," said Haruka. "The whole point of Aiyana being in the infirmary—or so the others are informed—is so that Aiyana could be tested for diseases that might have been passed on to the king and queen. So say you need a blood sample for confirmation of his health."  
  
Ami sighed deeply, looking away from the three others in the room unhappily. "I would hate to lie to them."  
  
"You wouldn't be lying if you said it was for confirmation of a test," said Michiru seriously. "That's the truth. We could run a quick test and make sure of everything."  
  
Ami turned to the Outers, then looked down at Aiyana. She was struggling to keep her face neutral, for her sake, but there was a longing and pain in her eyes so intense Ami was sorry she had looked. She knew that the younger woman longed to know about her heritage, her parentage, to further understand herself. She looked down at the floor.  
  
"I'll see what I can do."  
  
Michiru and Haruka smiled.  
  
***  
  
"You know, paternity tests are kind of outdated in Crystal Tokyo," Ami said, wringing her hands together. She was staring out of the window in Aiyana's hospital room, staring at the crystal spire that rose high above the other establishments in the center of Crystal Tokyo. "Most people don't have a problem with who their fathers and mothers are. They're…married when they have children."  
  
"When was the central organization of Crystal Tokyo established?"  
  
"A little before we were married. Me and the other three, I mean. Usagi- chan was married before all of us."  
  
Aiyana thought hard. "What happened after that? I mean, how many years—on Earth—were you married before I was born?"  
  
"Well, you're seventeen—it's June, isn't it? You're actually about seventeen and a half. Time really has flown…anyway, I was married about two years before Masaya was born, to Minako-chan and Sadayoshi-san, of course. So…I'd say about nine years before you were born…maybe a year before that…ten years before you were born.  
  
"Of course, that's all relative. Really, time passes a lot slower here in Crystal Tokyo. It's hard to explain…it seems like a lot shorter time, but in reality I'm very old, probably almost a thousand years old. Chibi- usa…Princess Lady Serenity…she's about nine hundred and ten years old. So while you are seventeen…it's very hard to explain how the timeline works," Ami said helplessly. "I mean, the Cold Sleep contributed time to however long we were…"  
  
"What's the Cold Sleep?"  
  
"A little before Crystal Tokyo was established, the world was thrown into a period of dormancy. Neo-Queen Serenity used the power of the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou and awoke the world. But when we awoke, there were horrible monsters to fight. The past is a little hazy…I'm not sure I remember all the details…I do remember the fight was long and harrowing. Most people were in hiding from the forces we fought, and only we Senshi were awakened to fight the threat. Soon after we finished, Serenity and Endymion set up the city of Crystal Tokyo and granted immortality to the inhabitants, or at least extremely long lives."  
  
"Why do you say either or?"  
  
"To tell the truth," Ami said, "we don't fully understand the timeline or the extent of our lifespans. It's all mysterious, all tied up within the ginzuishou, and I guess you would say only the ginzuishou knows." Ami sighed sheepishly. "Sometimes that thing seems to have a mind of it's own."  
  
Aiyana stared at the floor thoughtfully.  
  
"But enough about that." Ami looked back up, smiling brightly at Aiyana.  
  
"No, not enough." Aiyana shook her head. "This is all important. It's all tied in. There's a gap somewhere. Somewhere in that small period of time—Cold Sleep, inauguration, fighting period—in the early days of Crystal Tokyo, there the answer lies."  
  
***  
  
"Your highness?"  
  
Endymion jumped and turned around. A look of relief washed over his face as he realized it was Amesuino Ami, the doctor and former Sailormercury. He smiled thinly.  
  
"Konnichi wa, Ami-chan. Don't call me that, please? Mamoru-san is fine, as you always used to call me."  
  
"If you would, Mamoru-san," said Ami, smiling warmly, "I need to ask a small favor of you."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"A blood sample, that's all, Mamoru-san."  
  
Endymion's face darkened, eyes widened. A blood sample? he thought. "May I ask why?"  
  
"Just have to run a few…tests," Ami said nervously. "Pertaining to the assassination attempt and all. We have to make sure you didn't…acquire…anything from Ai—from the assassin, your highness."  
  
Endymion absorbed in his own nervousness, didn't even catch Ami's wavering tone. Kami-sama, what if they match us up…?!  
  
"It's for your own health, Mamoru-san," Ami reminded him gently.  
  
Endymion shrugged and donned a watery smile. "I suppose that would be wise on my part, wouldn't it?" He looked away from Ami, praying she hadn't already seen the jumpy look in his eyes. "Would I have to come up to the clinic?"  
  
"Yes, Mamoru-san, you would. First floor, triage. I'd like to do this personally."  
  
***  
  
"I've got the sample."  
  
Aiyana looked at Ami and felt bad. She looked sorely vexed, eyes dark and droopy, skin pale. She felt sorry for ever causing any trouble towards her, especially making her deceive her king.  
  
But she wanted to know the truth just as much as Haruka and Michiru did. They were staring at Ami intently, very interested in what she had to say.  
  
"I just thought of something a little earlier," said Haruka. "Birth records. If Aiyana were born here, she'd definitely have one."  
  
"Maybe," said Aiyana. "Although I think you underestimate your king. Don't you think he'd hide that away somewhere so some random nurse—maybe even Dr. Amesuino-sensei herself—wouldn't stumble over the records?"  
  
"No," said Ami. "No one would be able to do that. A special nurse archives all information here. If Endymion was really smart – I can't believe I'm saying this – Aiyana would never even have been born in this hospital."  
  
"But a copy of all babies' birth records are sent to the Crystal Tokyo hospital archives for census reasons and other things like that," Michiru pointed out.  
  
"Yes, but it would have been harder to track if she were born away from the Crystal Tokyo hospital. People barely go in those archives here except to count the number of records for the census, perhaps to update the alphabetical order."  
  
"Really." Haruka stroked her chin.  
  
"The hospitals across the world mandate their own records," Ami added. "If they truly wanted to hide a child, the farther away, the better. The archives from very small hospitals that are far are neglected."  
  
"So, say they went and had the child in China or Taiwan. Not smart," Haruka said.  
  
"But…if they had…me. If they had me in one of your farther countries, like…"  
  
"Norway. Sweden."  
  
"America."  
  
"America. That would have been smarter, would it not?"  
  
"Much smarter. America is excellent. Not too obsucre, so no one would think to start looking there first. Farther from the queen's rule and looser under it's reign. Plus, they contribute their own census from America…no need to go rifling through files."  
  
"Perfect. We'll start looking in America's birth files first, then. In the meantime, run that paternity test, Ami."  
  
"You'll need archival permissions to get in there. Frankly, I'm not sure if giving permissions to you is the right thing to do." Ami sighed, then looked from Haruka to Michiru. "But I'm going to give them to you anyway. I have to process them first; it'll take a couple of days, but look for them in the mail, okay?"  
  
"Khalidah Aiyana." Michiru nodded. She stood up and headed for the door.  
  
"Wonder why they named you that?" Haruka said, before she left.  
  
"Eternal secrecy brings eternal problems," Aiyana mumbled under her breath.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
AN: Has anyone here ever heard of couvade? Mwahahahaha…  
  
Things are finally starting to pick up. Ship in hyperspeed, Aiyana's moving along in her pregnancy, and the investigation of her parenthood is getting somewhere…  
  
Anything else, email me! 


	16. Wait Till Mom Hears About This

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
1 Chapter 16 – Wait Till Mom Hears About This  
  
***  
  
"I can't believe this. Not one document looks suspicious at all! We've searched Khalidah, Tomoe, and Chiba...nothing!"  
  
Michiru turned around and looked at her partner. She was seated in front of the archival computer in the main room of the American division of the archives. The archives were in a huge building that was affiliated with, but not connected to, the hospital. Amazing for such a large system, the archives were all updated and kept nice and neat by Ami and her millions of hospital workers. However, the archives were so extensive that each country had their own division, including a main room with a mainframe computer to sort each country's archives and millions of hard copies.  
  
"So perhaps her birth records were destroyed, hidden...whatever!" said Michiru, sighing gently and throwing a file. There were other Chibas that were born in America, but there were sixteen of them and none of them had anything suspicious going on. Ten of them were boys, and four of the six girls were American-mix. Two of the girls could have been Aiyana, but one of them was too young, and the other had lung cancer.  
  
"We have to go back to tell Ami that we haven't found anything yet," Haruka said, shutting down the computer. "Maybe she's found something with that blood sample she managed to get from King Endymion."  
  
***  
  
"So you see, everything's going pretty all right...till Mom starts asking me some dumb questions. And she knows I'm not going to answer them, so of course we get into an argument. Then Emi starts making this crack..."  
  
Aiyana smiled faintly at Masaya's story. He was laying on his back on the hospital bed, and Aiyana was sitting in the chair, watching him – a welcome change from the usual other-way-around. Masaya had his hands behind his head, supporting it, and his blue-gray eyes were closed. His body was stretched across the bed, his long legs nearly hanging off the end of it. He looked like a big boy.  
  
Aiyana giggled when the image of a younger Masaya popped into her head – running around a kindergarten room, driving his teacher crazy, and doing the same when younger with his mother. From his description of his home life – which he had been entertaining her with today – it seemed like he was still driving his mother crazy. She wondered vaguely if Masaya looked anything like his father. He didn't seem to look like his mother, except for a little bit in his eyes.  
  
"Are you even listening to me anymore?" Masaya asked, and chuckled a little. "I admit, my home life can get a little boring at times."  
  
"No, that's not it," said Aiyana. "I was just thinking. I'm sorry if I looked a little distant."  
  
"It's okay," Masaya said, waving his hand as if Aiyana's inattentiveness was of little consequence. "Don't even worry about it." He opened his eyes and found them drifting towards her lips, and immediately closed them. That was the reason he had closed his eyes in the first place. The first time they had positioned themselves there, he had found himself wondering, 'Would she kiss me again?'  
  
"What were you thinking about?" he asked her, to change the subject.  
  
"...Children, I guess," Aiyana said, after pausing to think of an excuse without lying. "I wonder what my child will be like. Will it be a girl or a boy? Or—" Aiyana gulped, thinking of Ami's children. "Twins?"  
  
"You're not really big enough for twins," Masaya laughed, seeing Aiyana's trouble face. "But they do have several methods of determining your child's sex. Some are infallible, some are not. Would you like to take a test and find out what your child is?"  
  
Aiyana considered it, then smiled faintly. "No. I'd prefer to be surprised."  
  
Masaya's face broke into an even wider grin, then felt his spirits fall as he thought of something else Aiyana should know. "Aiyana," he said, sitting up on the bed, "there's something I have to tell you. Did Ami ever say anything to you about adoption?"  
  
Aiyana frowned, seeing the concern on Masaya's face. "Adoption? No."  
  
"Well...whenever we have unwed mothers in here – which isn't often – we're required to discuss alternatives with them. And since we've already went over abortion, although it's too late to obtain an abortion now, we have to talk to you about the possibility of adoption."  
  
"What would that entail?"  
  
"Well," Masaya said, "You would have to sign your rights for your child over to another family. They would become the child's legal guardians, and care for it as it grew."  
  
Aiyana remained silent for a few moments, piercing Masaya through with her deep blue eyes. The she said, a thoughtful look on her face, "What would be the pros and cons of doing that?"  
  
Masaya took a deep breath. "Your child would probably be more secure with another family. I don't like to say this, Aiyana, but...we honestly don't know what's going to happen to you in the next few months. Once you have your child...people will begin to find things out, and they'll know. And Ami can't keep your condition concealed forever. She's under tremendous pressure right now, trying to keep that secret. This way, your baby would have a stable family, would have everything it needed – financially, materially, and in the way of attention.  
  
"However, no one forms a bond with a child like a mother does, and your child would always feel a sense of emptiness inside itself. If his or her parents told her about the adoption, he or she would always wonder. Then there is the issue of...breast-feeding." Masaya colored a little, but continued. "It's the best thing for a child, and your child wouldn't have the benefit of that. Besides, it might be pretty hard to place your child with a family."  
  
Aiyana looked down, and Masaya knew he had said something wrong.  
  
"What?" he asked gently.  
  
"That's just it," said Aiyana. "It'd be pretty hard to place the child. Who'd want it? Who would want her besides me?" Her eyes filled with tears. "No one wanted me. Why would anyone want my offspring?" She buried her face in her hands. "I know that emptiness. That feeling that something's missing...the knowledge that someone gave you up, didn't want you, didn't need you." She buried her face in her hands, sobbing softly.  
  
Masaya took the troubled young woman into his arms. Kissing her forehead softly, he drew her closer, rocking her gently as he listened to her cry.  
  
***  
  
"Masaya? Can I please ask what's going on?"  
  
"Shh. She's asleep," Masaya said, looking up from behind the thick curtain Aiyana's hair provided. It was soft and silky and smelled like roses – just like her skin. He'd been laying on it, half-asleep himself and hypnotized by the softness and fragrance of her, until Ami had walked in a few moments earlier and assumed the most perturbed face Masaya had ever seen her have on her face.  
  
"I can see that." Ami shifted her weight to her other leg and placed her hand on her hip. Looking back up at the door, Masaya saw Michiru and Haruka waiting just outside of it. They were peering in, and both of them looked a little amused.  
  
Masaya reddened with embarrassment and gently lay the girl's body down on the bed, then rose. "I asked her about adoption," he said softly, so only Ami could hear him. "She started crying and then she fell asleep. I didn't do anything to her," he said quickly.  
  
"I don't believe you could find it in your heart to," Ami said back, just as softly. She nodded at Masaya, and he exited, shooting one quick look back at Aiyana as he left.  
  
"So what are we going to do now?" Michiru said quietly as the three adults filed into the room.  
  
"She's asleep. There's not much we can do." Haruka looked down at the sleeping girl. "I can only imagine what that conversation was like." She cocked an eyebrow at Ami.  
  
"This hospital holds a policy to all unwed mothers," said Ami. "We're required to run through alternatives to raising a child single-handedly, including an abortion and adoption. We space them out so as not to shock the person too much, and I suppose that's what Masaya was telling her. He was probably telling her about the cons when she realized that her predicament was a lot like being adopted, and started crying, then fell asleep."  
  
"You're quite insightful," said Michiru, staring at the sleeping form on the bed. "So how do we tell her that we didn't find anything in the archives and you don't even know if the paternity test will work?"  
  
"I *told* you paternity tests are kind of outdated here," Ami said, her whisper fierce.  
  
"So outdated that you can't even find the formula to it?"  
  
"No," said Ami, taking the seat where Aiyana had been seated until Masaya put her on the bed. She sighed heavily. "I can devise a simple test from the current pregnancy test using some applications from med school and pure luck, but it might not be very accurate at first until I develop it a little bit."  
  
"So do that," said Haruka. "In the meantime, Michiru and I are going archive-hunting again." She narrowed her eyes at the younger doctor. "We'll get this thing straightened out if we have to tear apart the world trying to."  
  
***  
  
"Shimatta."  
  
Kunzite's smokey grey eyes followed the small black blip across the liquid- crystal display screen in the computer room. Sailorvenus was standing behind him, also watching the blip. Zoisite, in Mercury's absence, was off to the side, typing in some schematics or something or other into the computer. The other three Senshi and two generals were sitting in chairs in the computer room, basically waiting.  
  
"What?" asked Sailorvenus, perking her head up to stare at the computer screen. "Oh, hell!"  
  
Kunzite remained considerably calmer than his wife, who leaned in closer to the computer screen. "Let me take a look at that...my god! That thing is coming in fast. No inhibitions about it."  
  
"It will arrive in about three weeks – and that's only if it's speed doesn't accelerate, as the trend seems to be," Zoisite said softly. "That's also if it truly is headed towards us. Unless it's going to probe another planet or whatever. In any event, it's entering our solar system directly outside the orbit of Uranus by tonight. By tomorrow morning it'll be dodging asteroids in the rings."  
  
Nephrite slowly shook his head. "It's phenomenal," she said. "The travel speed is phenomenal! It's going faster than the speed of sound. Nowhere near light-speed, but at least it's over the speed of sound! It's amazing. And with such a sleek design—"  
  
"Oh, who gives a damn," Sailorjupiter said in an irritated voice. "It's fast, it's coming for us. That's all I care about."  
  
"I have to agree with Jupiter on that one," said Sailormars, chuckling a little.  
  
"So what are we going to do?"  
  
"Perhaps we should deploy a fleet up there," said Jadeite. "Kind of watch it's progress. If it really is coming towards the planet, then we can have someone stationed up there to ward them off. If not, then they can just make sure they bypass Earth completely."  
  
"Maybe that's a pretty good idea," said Zoisite, "and maybe it isn't. It just might provoke them to see a fleet up there, whereas before they were just going to keep on flying."  
  
"It's our best bet towards protection, though," Kunzite said, turning around to the company before him. "It would be wise to send someone up there to monitor the activity of this thing. We should have about four ships up there for three weeks; that should be enough to ward them off if they are hostile." He turned to Nephrite. "Round up three Air Force regiments and tell them the situation. We can meet in the war room of the palace to instruct them. Right now we have to sort out the siege's stipulations." He turned to his wife, Jadeite, and Mars. "Can you all help me do that?"  
  
The three of them nodded.  
  
"Let's go, then."  
  
***  
  
"What a witch!" Chiba Tsukino Usagi, otherwise known as Princess Usagi Small Lady Selenity, leaned forward towards Izumi. "And you mean that she completely just the whole weekend knew what she was doing the whole time?!"  
  
"Of course she did," said Izumi indignantly. "She watched me the whole time like a hawk. Once she figured that I liked Masaya, she decided to strike. She hated me from the beginning, that busu."  
  
Koikokoro Emi closed her eyes in a gesture of exasperation. "The profanity is *not* called for, Izumi-chan," she said calmly.  
  
Izumi, Usa, and Kogasunasu Hitomi turned to Emi. The five girls – Hayashino Megami was also present -- were congregated in Usa's extremely large and extremely pink room in the palace. The door was tightly locked and closed, and the four of them were gossiping when Izumi brought up the subject of Masaya and Aiyana.  
  
Rather, Izumi, Usa, and Hitomi were gossiping. Megami and Emi pretty much the only one of the girls who never liked to talk about other people or gossip pointlessly about recent goings-ons. Megami was an athletic, tomboyish sort, and she didn't like discussing all that; Emi was quiet and studious and didn't get involved in gossip.  
  
But even though she wasn't a gossip, Izumi had pledged that she knew a lot about the assassin, and Megami was eager to find out what her parents had been whispering about, and what Teruo had been questioning Masaya about over the phone. He hadn't had much luck with the conversations, but Megami wanted to rub it in his face that she knew more about the source of his interest than he did. Emi just didn't want to be alone in her house, her older brother at the hospital and her parents off in the palace's workrooms.  
  
"Whatever," Izumi said, tossing her head so that her blue hair shook around it. "I just know she knew what she was doing. She's crafty; that's why she's an assassin."  
  
"I'd hate to have had her babysit me," said Usa. Izumi had no qualms with letting every one of her friends know that she had a crush on Masaya, and only part of it was defending her turf. But now it didn't seem as if she had to defend him from anyone.  
  
"Did it ever occur to you guys that maybe she really likes Masaya-san?" Megami asked, laying against one of Usa's fuzzy pink pillows. "I mean, she's only a few years older than us. It's possible for her to have a crush."  
  
"She's an assassin. She doesn't have feelings like that. All she can know is hate and the drive to kill."  
  
"Usa, you sound like something out of a bad monster movie," said Megami, laughing and throwing one of Usa's other pillows at her. "She's human, so she can feel, you know?"  
  
"And you guys sound more heartless than she does," Emi said, clutching a plushie Sailormoon doll close to her. "You're dressing her as if she were some kind of beast or something. I heard Masaya say she was really pretty."  
  
Izumi's eyes widened, then she sat back against the headboard of Usa's bed and sulked.  
  
"What does she look like?" Hitomi asked, turning to Izumi.  
  
"She's got blue eyes and dark violet hair," Izumi said, "nothing really special."  
  
"She's really tall, and her eyes are very luminous," Emi said. "That's what Masaya said. He said she's really pretty, kind of exotic in a way. And yet, still familiar." Emi smiled. "That sounds so sweet. He sounded like he was really interested in her hard."  
  
Izumi shook her head. "Just admiring a pretty face, that's all. She's pregnant, too, and you know he loves children."  
  
"Pregnant?!"  
  
Izumi's eyes widened, then narrowed as she smiled devilishly. She'd forgotten that the girls didn't know that Aiyana was pregnant. And, if she deduced correctly from Masaya's unwitting hints, she wasn't sure if their mothers knew.  
  
"Hai, pregnant," she said nonchalantly. "You guys didn't know? I mean, it's pretty obvious that she is. Her stomach's really big and round, and she looks really, really pregnant. About five months, last time I saw; she's got to be about six now."  
  
The other four girls turned to each other, eyes widened by the excitement of being in the know. The same thought was undoubtedly on each of their minds: *Wait till Mom hears about this!*  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------  
  
AN: Whoa...this chapter took a long time to get out. My father broke the disk drive in the computer (although he profusely denies it, my brother saw him do it) and I couldn't transfer the rest of the story information over to this computer from mine. So I had to start this chapter over. I actually like this chapter better than the previous outlay.  
  
If you have any questions, email them to me: julymoonbunny@hotmail.com 


	17. It Gets Pretty Freaky

1 Chapter 17 â€" It Gets Pretty Freaky  
  
***  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
Megami clapped her hands over her mouth and looked at her mother with wide, guilty forest green eyes. She hadn't meant to let that jab slip out, but it did, and now her mother was staring at her, spatula paused over the plate she was about to dish out to her children.  
  
Teruo stared angrily at Megami, eyes narrowed. The two of them had been arguing â€" Teruo was questioning Masaya heavily again, and Megami had commented that he sounded like Masaya's mother. They started arguing, and Megami had inadvertently blurted out the truth about Aiyana.  
  
"Megami-chan," said Mako, placing her spatula on a potholder so her counters wouldn't get dirty, "what did you say?" She was struggling to keep her voice calm, but it was a strain.  
  
"Well, that's what Izumi-chan said," Megami said, eyes still like two saucers. "She said that Aiyana â€" that's the assassin's name â€" she was over the Amesuinos, and she was babysittingâ€""  
  
"She was WHAT?" Mako strode over towards Megami. "You said that the assassin was *babysitting* at Ami's house? Whaâ€"" Mako shook her head. "How...how?"  
  
"I guess...Masaya-san needed help," Megami said helplessly. She had managed to keep the secret for a while, after Emi's encouragement that the girls shouldn't tell their parents â€" no matter how impressed their mothers might be from the presentation of this information. Now Megami felt about to cry, having broke the confidence she had with her friends. "And Izumi- chan said she was very pregnant. About five months, although she should be almost six months now."  
  
Teruo's chocolate brown eyes got wider and wider with every word. "She's pregnant? The babe?"  
  
"Shut up, Teruo," Ieyasu said, shooting a glare at his son. Teruo sank into a chair at the kitchen table.  
  
"So that's what was what Masaya said was wrong with her," he said, either not hearing or ignoring his father. "He said he couldn't tell me because she would get angry, and later because he didn't want to...she's pregnant! I wonder how she got pregnant?"  
  
"Listen to me, the two of you," said Mako, standing at the table with an arm on her husband's shoulder for support. "I don't want to hear any of this conversation go outside this family. ANY, do you hear me? It stays here. Don't talk to anyone â€" not even you and Masaya, although undoubtedly he knows." She stared her children down, aided by her husband. "Is that understood?"  
  
Teruo and Megami nodded meekly.  
  
"It's only a good thing that Yoshiko isn't here," Ieyasu said. "She can't keep a secret to save her life."  
  
Mako gently knocked her husband in the head, giving him a disapproving look. "Who else knows?" she asked her children.  
  
"Masaya knows, of course," Teruo answered.  
  
"Emi-chan, Izumi-chan, Hitomi-chan, and Usa-chan know now," said Megami.  
  
"And Ami definitely knows. Mitsuru would have to know," Ieyasu said. "And Tenoh-san and Kaioh-san we wouldn't even know about, although there's no reason for them to know." Ieyasu shook his head, then turned to his wife.  
  
Her face was grim. "Looks like we need to have a little meeting between Mercury and Jupiter."  
  
***  
  
"Ami. We have got to talk."  
  
Ami turned to the tall brown-haired woman and immediately knew that whatever it was, Mako was extremely upset in some way. She was stalking towards Ami quickly, as if there was no way in hell Ami was getting away without talking to her.  
  
"What is it, Mako? I'm working right now."  
  
"You..." Mako pulled on her white lab and bade her bend towards her. "Are you headed anywhere really important right now?"  
  
"I have some files to...well, file, but other than that, no."  
  
"Come with me. Show me somewhere where we can talk. Alone."  
  
Ami eyed Mako, but nothing showed in her eyes. She showed the brown-haired Senshi into a small conference room off the front end of the hospital and turned the little knob that made the LCD display "Do Not Disturb."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Mako demanded, hands on her hips. With her height, she appeared imposing.  
  
"Tell...what?" Ami had an awful sense of foreboding.  
  
"You're keeping that girl alive, not to run any test, but because she's pregnant!" Mako threw her hands in the air. "What is wrong with you lately, Ami? Didn't you think that was important to tell us!"  
  
"Oh, Mako," Ami said, wringing her hands. "You haven't told anyone else, have you? How did you find out?"  
  
"Don't worry about any of that," Mako said angrily. "I just want to know why you didn't tell anyone! What is up?!"  
  
"I didn't want anyone to get all in a tizzy. Just like you are now."  
  
"Well, you'd have to expect--"  
  
"No! Listen for a minute, Mako," Ami hissed. "I didn't tell any of you because of this very reason. I didn't want anyone to get worked up. I didn't want Aiyana's situation to fuel negative gossip that might change the way the queen or anyone would rule in a case of asylum."  
  
"Asylum?! On this planet?!"  
  
"Is there any other planet that would grant her asylum? With living people on it? The civilizations of Mercury and Jupiter are dead, you know."  
  
Mako narrowed her eyes at Ami and replaced her hands on her hips. "What I meant, oh mighty and sarcastic doctor, is *why* in the fiery pits of the Dark Kingdom would we want to grant this patient â€" this assassin â€" asylum on the planet ruled by the two monarchs that she tried to kill? Who's to say that she won't attempt it again?"  
  
"Who is to say that she will?"  
  
Mako sighed in exasperation and eyed Ami. "Why are you defending her? She tried to kill your queen, your best friend! If it weren't for Usagi, you know you would have never gotten anywhere. I wouldn't have. Rei wouldn't have; Minako wouldn't have. We would have been our lonely selves, worthless, immersed in trying to preserve ourselves instead of fighting for a greater cause. And here you have someone that endangers her life, and you're trying to *defend* her? What makes you do that, Ami? What are you doing?"  
  
Ami sank into one of the chairs placed around the conference table. Mako's words hit hard, and they were deeply true. If not for Usagi, her time at Juuban Junior High School would have been hell, as would the rest of her life in Tokyo. She placed her face in her hands.  
  
But a few moments later she rose it out, staring resolutely at Mako. "I feel the same way about Aiyana," she said staunchly. "She's got that...I don't know. She's not evil; she's not dangerous. She has a good heart and the will to change, to be different, to separate herself from her whole life and give it her all. In a way, she's being self-sacrificial â€" giving up a respected position in her old home to become a new person and to save the child growing inside of her. She's going against the odds, Mako, and if she's going to try and be someone new â€" try and trust people she's never met â€" then perhaps I should learn to be more trusting, too. Maybe we all should." She looked at Mako pointedly, raising a pleading eyebrow.  
  
Mako sighed deeply and sat next to Ami in the chair. "So tell me what's going on."  
  
"Everything?"  
  
"Everything. No matter how freaky it gets."  
  
"Oh, believe me â€" it gets pretty freaky."  
  
***  
  
"France and England," said Haruka. "No dice."  
  
Michiru put her chin in her hand, deep in thought. "Really." Her brow furrowed as she thought deeply. "Isn't England part of the United Kingdom now?"  
  
"It always was, although they lost power when Selenity came to power. They've always resented Crystal Tokyo for that reason," said Haruka, dredging up all the political history she could remember. "They've donated their own census for years, and there's been many political battles over there â€" they're trying to gain what little control they still have left, which is religious power. Catholics and Protestants. They've been battling for years, but it's become worse."  
  
"Wasn't there a particular region all this was happening in?"  
  
"Yeah...Wales? No, that's more affiliated with England...oh, I remember. I always used to get it confused with Italy, that's why."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"It's called Ireland."  
  
***  
  
Emi had been a bit more prudent in her distribution of information. She hadn't gone straight to her mom.  
  
She targeted Masaya instead.  
  
"You're going to be in a *lot* of trouble when Mom finds out what you've been hiding," she teased her older brother, as she brushed her hair in the ornate mirror over her bureau. Masaya was spread out over her bed, having been teasing her about something or other before.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Masaya said, a half-smile on his face. Nothing Emi could be thinking of could possibly hold the magnitude of â€"  
  
"You haven't told anyone that that girl is pregnant."  
  
Masaya sat bolt upright on his sister's bed. "Where did you hear that from?"  
  
Emi told him.  
  
*I could wring Izumi's NECK!!!* Masaya thought, and cursed under his breath. "You're not going to tell Mom, are you?"  
  
"I might not..." Emi whistled.  
  
"Emiâ€"" Masaya stalked over to his younger sister and took her by the shoulders firmly. When he spoke, his voice was low and dangerous. "Emi- chan, do NOT play games with this. This is seriously important. You are NOT going to tell anyone, do you hear me?!"  
  
"I heard you all right," Emi said. "You'd better get your hands off me if you want me to comply with anything you just said."  
  
Reluctantly, Masaya released her, but his eyes stayed on Emi, glittering bitterly. "Her life depends on it, Emi," he pleaded softly.  
  
Emi's eyes widened when she heard the tone of Masaya's voice. She cocked her head to the side and studied her brother's expression. "You really do care for her, don't you?" she asked.  
  
Masaya reddened and seated himself on the bed again, but he didn't say anything.  
  
"You know," Emi said, sitting besides him, "normally I would use this opportunity for the PERFECT blackmail. But just because I love you so much â€" and it involves more than you at stake here â€" I think I can keep it under wraps."  
  
Masaya looked back at Emi, his eyes taking on a quality half-way between that of a puppy-dog's and a little boy's. "You can?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Even..." Masaya blushed again. "Even about me caring for her?"  
  
"Man, I LOVE it when you grovel!" Emi giggled. "Sure, even that too. Although don't do anything mean to me, because your friends at the hospital will hear about this groveling session."  
  
"Emiâ€"" *She doesn't understand,* he thought, his eyes despairing as he looked at Emi. "Emi-chan, listen. I'm serious when I say this â€" all laughter aside. This is very important. You can't blackmail me on this â€" it's not like it endangers only my reputation. This endangers Aiyana's reputation, even her life as we know it. It's important that her slate be as clean as possible. I know that the other girls won't get a chance to hear me say this, but maybe you'll be able to talk to them a little bit, kind of...relay me to them. Okay?"  
  
Emi studied her brother.  
  
"PLEASE, Emi." His eyes had the pleading in it again, and Emi knew that Masaya's feelings for this girl didn't stop at general doctor-patient caring. Megami's words came back to her, and she smiled faintly.  
  
"I hear you, onii-san," she said, reaching over to hug her brother. "I'll try my best, okay? But only on one condition."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
Emi stared at the older man. "If she even LOOKS like she's about to hurt Usa-chan, or Aunt Selenity, or Uncle Endymion, you have to tell someone. You HAVE to, Masaya. Usa-chan is like my cousin, or even my sister; I couldn't bear to have anything happen to her! And from the assassin's first attempt it looks as if she wanted to do something to hurt them. So you promise me that, and I'll promise you what you want." She offered her pinky.  
  
Even with the comical expression of adolescent covenant making, Masaya's face was still solemn. He linked his pinky with his younger sister's. "I promise."  
  
"Then I promise, too."  
  
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AN: YAH! Two chapters, back-to-back! I'm on a roll!  
  
Any questions ( julymoonbunny@hotmail.com 


	18. She's Leaking

**Chapter 18 – She's Leaking**

"Ireland." Haruka quickly entered a password into an identification screen and shook her head gently when the 'access denied' screen came on the monitor.

"Why in the world would Endymion have a child in Ireland?" Michiru asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Good and far. The last place anyone would think to look, since it is in the United Kingdom and they donate their own demographics. He'd disappear as just another statistic. And he gets asylum anywhere he goes, because he's the king." Haruka added a curse under her breath when she reached another 'access denied' screen.

"Here, let me." Michiru shooed Haruka from the computer console and carefully picked at the keyboard.

"Lots of civil strife going on there," she commented as she paused, deep in thought. "Wouldn't they be concerned that that would cause some heads to turn? I mean, with the king of the planet being there and all?"

"No. It would have the reverse reaction," said Haruka. "The people of the United Kingdom are resentful of the Neo Moon Kingdom taking their power. A visit from the king would be more or less ignored, since they don't hail him as their king but depend on the rulers of their own kingdom. If Endymion were especially prudent, he'd be able to get in and out of the country with absolutely no one noticing."

"Really," said Michiru, entering the password. The screen blipped green and she smiled complacently. "We're in the Irish database. Let's do this."

* * *

Ami stared, very gravely, at the results she had on the paper. She blinked hard, but no matter how hard she blinked, the paper still rendered the same information it had before. She turned to Aiyana, who looked quite upset.

She'd complained of a severe headache earlier and went to sleep, and later woke with a feeling of wetness. Ami rushed to her, afraid for the child - it was mid-July, and a pre-term birth now, two months before term, would be very dangerous for both mother and child - but Aiyana's water wasn't breaking. It wasn't the consistency and color they were looking for.

"What's wrong with her, Ami?" Masaya was standing by. He was the one who had discovered Aiyana's discomfort and informed Ami of it. Ami stared back at the paper.

"She's leaking amniotic fluid," Ami replied unhappily.

Masaya's eyes widened. Amniotic fluid was very important to a fetus - it provided protection from infection, and if Aiyana lost too much of it, her child could suffer from infection.

"Even better," Ami added bitterly, "there was a bit of mucous in the fluid. It seems that she's losing her mucous plug as well. Which could mean one of two things."

Now there was something Masaya knew nothing about. He cocked his head to the side. "What?"

"One, the examination dislodged it and any more examination would be a bit dangerous, because it might cause early labor. Or two, her body's already preparing to go into early labor. Let's hope it's the former, Masaya."

Masaya nodded and exited the small conference room located in the back of the large hospital room Aiyana was now staying in. He advanced towards Aiyana's hospital bed, prepared to tell her the news. She looked half asleep, but her heavy lids fluttered a bit when she realized that Masaya was kneeling by her bedside.

"What's going on?" she asked groggily.

"You...you're leaking some vital fluids," he told her, as bluntly as possible. As much as he wanted to keep it from her - keep all the problems that involved her from her, and take care of them all himself - he had to tell her. It was important that she cooperate so that her child would be safely born, and nothing would happen to her. "Amniotic fluid. It protects the child."

Aiyana's eyes narrowed, she stared at Masaya for a few moments, then burst into tears.

Masaya sighed helplessly. He hated to see her cry; this was only the third time, and he felt like such a heel. All three times it had been because of something he'd said. Reflecting on that, he felt like crying himself.

"Aiyana, Aiyana, stop crying." Ami's soothing voice floated from the back of the room, and in a moment she was there, rubbing the young woman's back and cooing soothing words to her. "Masaya perhaps didn't explain the effects enough." She shot a look at Masaya, slightly reproachful, and that only made him feel worse.

"What's going to happen to me, Ami?" Aiyana whispered, bright blue eyes full of fright and tears.

"When you're pregnant, there's this little sac called the amniotic sac that protects the child from infection," said Ami, rocking Aiyana gently. "When it leaks a little fluid, things can get a bit dangerous, but it's nothing that modern medicine can't handle with a little bit of care. Have you felt any change in the way you're carrying the child?"

"Um..." Aiyana swallowed. "Sometimes she seems to move less. Is that bad? Dr. Amesuino-sensei..." She choked on her next set of words. "Could she be dead inside me?" The thought made her burst into another round of sobs.

"Oh, Aiyana," Masaya sighed softly, and felt tears well in his own eyes. He turned away so Ami wouldn't see how much this was affecting him, but Ami was too perceptive to miss such a thing. "Are you sure?"

"I don't believe she's dead," said Ami, smiling gently. "I can feel her kicking you right now. Maybe because you've been sleeping more, you feel her less?"

Masaya had to agree that Aiyana had been sleeping an awful lot. She was fatigued all the time. He had to content himself with, instead of talking to her, holding her in his arms or sitting and watching her sleep. Both of which weren't horrible alternatives, but not nearly as enjoyable as conversing with her and feeling her eyes on him.

"Maybe so," Aiyana sniffled. The stress, the strain on her was just too great. She felt as if she could collapse right now, and the whole world wouldn't care. No world would care - her own, nor the one she was on right now. All of this discovering, investigating, looking and measuring...it was starting to take it's toll, and all she wanted to do now was sleep. Eternally.

But when she saw Masaya's warm but shaky smile, she knew she wasn't alone in her feelings. He was as nervous and frightened as she, although he would hardly admit it. It made her feel better. _Someone would care, at least. Ami would care._

_And Masaya would care_.

* * *

"Feeling better, my prince?"

"Never felt...better," replied Prince Tamashiiro, staring weirdly at the doctor. He'd stopped having the weird symptoms a few weeks ago, but his father wasn't taking any chances. Tamashiiro would have liked to believe it was all because he cared about him. It was true that the emperor did care for his adopted son, but it was also true that Tamashiiro was his only heir and he didn't want to lose him.

"Did you ever find out what was wrong with me?"

"Seemed to be some somatic symptoms," said the doctor, giving Tamashiiro a funny look. "Did you have an affair that produced a child?"

"What?" Tamashiiro wasn't sure that he was hearing the doctor right. "What are you trying to ask me?"

"You heard me perfectly well, Prince Tamashiiro-sama. Are you going to be a father any time soon?"

Tamashiiro thought hard. He had no idea...if that little twerp...were pregnant. Could she be? He backtracked, and realized that all the symptoms he'd had were the symptoms reminiscent of pregnancy. But he couldn't be pregnant, now could he? That, at least, was positive.

But it struck him he should be truthful with the doctor. That way, he might be able to get rid of some of these crazy feelings he had. Maybe the doctor might even be able to tell him whether that girl was pregnant or not. He'd go insane if she was.

"I sure hope not," he said truthfully.

The doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Look, sensei, if you utter so much as a word to this I'll have you on Tau level so fast that you won't see it coming," the prince said fiercely. The Tau caste was for high government rule violators, and were subject to long years in high-security prisons. The threat was frightening, and pretty solid coming from the second-highest ranking person on the doctor's planet - the doctor happened to be a Lambda, which was a high class society, the first civilian caste after the Military. The thought of being moved down so far was devastating.

"I promise to uphold an even higher level of secrecy that I am normally required to hold, your highness," the doctor said in a nervous voice. He ran his hand through the thinning hair on his scalp, eyes flickering a little.

"Good." Tamashiiro looked around, as if he expected someone to pop out of the walls. "There was this girl, okay? Night got a little cold. It was a one time thing."

"No protection?"

"No."

The doctor thought for a moment. "When was this?"

"The twenty-second of Jolene," he answered almost immediately. He'd never forget that date.

"Hmm," the doctor said. "The gestation period for...wait, was she Centurian, Proximian, or Andromedan?"

"She wasn't."

"What?"

"She wasn't from our system." Tamashiiro fell silent. "She was from Earth."

"Prince Tamashiiro-sama, you had sex with one of the tests?"

"You're getting loud, doc!"

"I'm sorry," said the doctor, lowering his voice. "But the test, Tamashiiro. What the hell is wrong with you?" The doctor sighed. "Which one?"

"The little lost one. The one they put under my watch."

"That's like having sex with a babysitting kid. Or worse, a lab rat."

Tamashiiro cringed at the likeness. "Like I said, it was a one-time thing. I'm sorry."

"Now, if she is pregnant, the child will be a half-breed. At least you're not Alphan. That'd be a really ugly mix."

Tamashiiro rolled his eyes and thought about the byproduct of a Centurian and an Earthian, what with the Centurians having the pointed ears, rolled- in eyes, and slightly webbed toes. They looked remotely Earthian, but there were too many differences for the baby to come out looking anything but horrendous. The Andromedans and the Earthians had many more likenesses, although Andromedans tended to be much taller and better built than the Earthians. However, Tamashiiro's home planet of Alpheratz was about the same distance from their sun as Earth was, so that had the Alpheratzians appearing about the same as the Earthians.

"I can't agree more." Tamashiiro stared at the doctor. "Is there still time to kill the child before it's born?"

"A partial-birth abortion could be done, yes, but we'd have to force her to give birth in order to kill the child. And in any event, we're still not completely sure she is, although it appears you're suffering from a disease we like to call ilytheiois."

"Huh?"

"Ilytheiois. Childbirth disease that relates to impending fatherhood. It's called couvade on Earth, and generally means that the father of a child gets the same symptoms as the mother, although they're related to somatic disturbances. Not quite sure how the father experiences the same thing as the mother...may come from anxiety about the birth. And I'd definitely say you're anxious about this birth."

"Damn right about that." Prince Tamashiiro looked a bit overwhelmed.

"Why would you want to kill it?"

"Why would I want it to live? I can't take care of a child."

"Who said you'd have to take care of it? She could take it herself. That test was particularly quiet. She wouldn't say anything even if she knew it was yours."

"What if it looks like me? My father would make me take care of it." Tamashiiro sighed. "He might even make me marry the girl."

The doctor chuckled, cocking his head at the prince. "Somehow, Prince Tamashiiro-sama, you don't seem as disturbed about that prospect as you should be."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------


	19. So, Is That Me?

1 Chapter 19 – So, Is That Me?  
  
***  
  
"Look, Haruka!" Michiru stood up and pointed to the computer screen glowing before her. "I found exactly five Tomoes in Ireland!"  
  
Haruka left off all attempts to appear her cool, collected self. She bounded off the chair she was sitting in, causing it to tip over, and ran to the computer Michiru had been tapping into for two and a half hours. She squinted at the screen, a slow smile spreading over her face as she read the five entries, written Western-style with the surnames last.  
  
She lifted Michiru off the chair and sat the woman in her lap in order to gain closer access to the computer screen – a development that Michiru was not completely unhappy with. "Three of them are boys," Haruka said, scrolling down. "The other two are girls and are going to be pretty easy to work with...Darcy Tomoe and Keiko Tomoe."  
  
"Keiko," Michiru whispered softly, blue eyes glistening with tears. "That was Hotaru's mother's name."  
  
"We've got to look at them both, Michiru," Haruka said, turning to her lover. "It's essential to us discovering who she is...there could be thousands of Tomoes worldwide. These are only two of them. We've got to look at all the possibilities." She smiled at Michiru, placing her hands on Michiru's shoulders. "But we're one step closer."  
  
***  
  
Ami peered at the red liquid in the small glass vial she held in her hands. This paternity test wasn't coming out quite right. She had found a way to test O type blood correctly and confirmed the test with blood samples of O daughters and fathers, including Ieyasu and Megami. She'd finally altered the formula enough so it could do A types and O types alike. She'd tested that with Ieyasu and Megami again, as well as Emi and Sadayoshi, who both had type A blood. Now she had to find a way to switch to B type blood. From there she could refine her formula to work for type AB blood – which was difficult, but it was the blood type that Aiyana possessed.  
  
Crossing from blood type to blood type was also difficult, but she'd finally derived the formula for going from A to O. She'd tested it on Endymion and Lady Selenity, and it'd come out positive – bingo. Unfortunately, when she went back to test her previous results, Ieyasu and Megami were coming out negative and Emi and Mitsuru were positive. She groaned and redid the tests, thankful that the Senshi's children all had blood samples stored in the hospital for future emergencies. With a little more work, her A to O and same-type paternity tests had stayed the same.  
  
"Let's see what happens if we add the little orange vial." Painstakingly, Ami dripped precisely four drops of the orange liquid resting on the table top. Using one of the glass stirs that rested on the table, she gently stirred the mixture, causing it to turn a darker shade of red. "Now to add this to the test."  
  
She opened the top of the machine – it was a DNA match-up, but she had managed to make a few small modifications to the machine that would change it into a paternity test and could easily be undone. Noting her formula down carefully before she added the contents of the small vial to her machine, she blessed science shortly and pressed the formula into the machine, along with Mitsuru's type B blood and Nanami's type O. Walking over to the feedback printer, she pulled the sheet of paper out. The computer had been configured to feed her back results as a paternity test using KECHEX commands that had originally made it a DNA match-up.  
  
B = 596959, O = 199070  
  
Subject Mtsrx20%Nnm  
  
Formula match-up 678546LG76TY  
  
Blood match-up 20%paternity  
  
...test results positive  
  
Ami closed her eyes and let up a prayer of thankfulness to the kami. Only one more blood type to add to the formula, and she was that much closer to discovering the truth behind Aiyana's parentage.  
  
***  
  
His kiss was all but unexpected: she'd been wanting him to come in her room all day and surprise her with one. Or, to be frank, *not* surprise her – it couldn't really be a surprise if she was expecting and wishing for him to kiss her. When he walked in the room she was jittery with excitement, and she relaxed when he finally did press his lips against hers, brushing her bangs away from her forehead. She felt so happy that she actually kissed him back.  
  
He pulled away and laughed. "You were supposed to be asleep! How are you supposed to fool me by making movement?" His laugh sounded a little nervous, and when Aiyana opened her eyes, his face was red with embarrassment.  
  
Before he had left the last time, Aiyana had noted that he was avoiding touching her, besides when she was asleep – or mostly when she was asleep, with a few times being when he thought she was asleep. Then would be the time he'd hold her in his arms, gently rocking her, or would stare at her, stroking her hair away from her face. Finally she'd grown fed up with it and had "awakened," shyly asking if he could be as affectionate when she was awake.  
  
That was two days ago. Yesterday he'd been off and Ami had been swamped; she spent a lonely day in the hospital room by herself, but Ami had been in the room long enough to assure Aiyana that Masaya would be on-duty the next day and would most likely sneak a few minutes to get inside the hospital room and say hello to Aiyana. And there he was, in the flesh before her.  
  
She smiled the broadest she had ever smiled as he sat down besides her on the bed. "What's new?"  
  
Best of all, she didn't even have to discuss with Masaya all the prodding Ami, Michiru, and Haruka were doing with her life. All the investigating, searching, and discovering were to be kept between the four of them. Any news of discovery was to be kept strictly –  
  
"Khalidah-san? Are you awake? Open up if you are, hurry!" The voice on the other end was urgent, but Aiyana could still tell it was Haruka. She wanted to kick the Amazon in the face for ruining the few moments of peace she had with Masaya. "I've got some really important news and it can't wait!"  
  
"Tenoh-san?" Masaya said questioningly, turning to Aiyana.  
  
She rose off the bed, but Masaya placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to sit back down. He got up and answered the door himself. Haruka and Michiru practically tumbled in, losing their usually dignified air, but quickly tried to save face as they stood back up. Michiru had a bunch of folders clutched in her hands.  
  
Haruka's eyes warily shifted to Masaya. "Caught you at a bad time?"  
  
Aiyana didn't even give Haruka the pleasure of answering her. She merely stared at her for a few moments, then resettled back on the bed – she'd pulled herself into a standing position when Masaya had opened the door. "What are you here for?"  
  
Michiru interceded, always the peacemaker. "Sorry if this really isn't a good time or whatever. But we found something important that we thought you'd like to see."  
  
***  
  
Masaya's mouth was open in disbelief. His arm was placed possessively around Aiyana's shoulder. She wasn't in hysterics or sobbing uncontrollably, but silent tears were running down her cheeks.  
  
Ami had been retrieved from the laboratory by Masaya – no one else could get her, and he'd blackmailed the three women. He'd promised to get her only if they promised to tell him every word of what had transpired between the two Outer Senshi, the doctor, and the patient during the last few weeks. Aiyana had appeared crestfallen, but she dubiously agreed to the deal.  
  
Now Ami, Haruka, and Michiru had taken turns telling the story to Masaya. His stares alternated between them collectively and Aiyana. She was crying again, and damn, but he was pretty sure those tears were because of him again.  
  
"Can I ask one question?"  
  
"No."  
  
Masaya snapped his mouth shut and sat back. Their suspicions of King Endymion were outrageous. The man was like an uncle to him, and he couldn't stand hearing the things Haruka and Michiru suspected him of. But how had they gotten Ami to go along with this? He'd turned to face her, looked into her eyes, and found the answer there. She hadn't wanted to believe it either. But it was glaring her in the eye, and she had always worked on rational thinking and proof. She'd prove that King Endymion was innocent, or she'd prove that she and her Senshi sisters had been naïve for all these years.  
  
"We found two short files in the Irish computers at the archives of females with the last name Tomoe," Haruka said. "Almost got caught as we printed the information on the location of the names in the archives. Had to run out really fast. But we came back a few hours later and went into the T room of the Irish archive.  
  
"The first girl, Darcy Tomoe, was only a year shy of the requirements for Aiyana – she'd be sixteen now instead of seventeen. The birthday didn't fit, but we conceded that it might have been changed for purposes unknown. However, when we got to her file, we realized that it couldn't possibly have been Aiyana unless she'd undergone some massive changes."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Aiyana said, sounding offended.  
  
"She was born with bright red hair, four ready-made freckles on her nose, and she has two undeniably Irish parents with names not even remotely near what Hotaru and Endymion would have chosen to hide themselves." Haruka waved the folder. "The pictures are all here, if you want to confirm."  
  
"So what about the other one?" asked Masaya, curious now. They wouldn't be laying the bait like this if there was no plausibility in the other file.  
  
Haruka clamped her mouth shut and allowed Michiru to take over.  
  
"The baby girl's name is Keiko Tomoe," she said, staring down at the sheet of paper. "Keiko was Hotaru's mother's name, in case you want to know. The certificate has her birthday listed as January fifteenth, but the timestamp doesn't match and here in Tokyo, it'd officially be January fifteenth by the time she was born. In Ireland, however, it was still January fourteenth." Michiru kept reading. "Beautiful baby girl. Seven pounds, six ounces, a little bit of curly dark hair indeterminable of color on her head and the most intense blue eyes you've ever seen.  
  
"The nurse that filled this out seemed to have a knack for detail. She mentioned that the eyes were very reminiscent of the baby's father's." Michiru paused a little, choosing to skip down over the rest of the stats. "Fingerprints are here...hospital bracelet after a few months...birth mother and father listed here: Hotaru Tomoe and Darien Shields."  
  
"Darien Shields?" Masaya burst into uncontrollable laughter. "What kind of a name is that?"  
  
"A fairly Westernized one," said Haruka. "However, the fact still stands that Hotaru refused to change her name on this document and is, indeed, the daughter of a child named Keiko Tomoe."  
  
"And I guess a bit of male arrogance keyed in here as well," Michiru said, smirking a little. "The king couldn't help proving his wit with his chosen name. With a little research, I discovered 'Darien Shields' means 'the king who protects.'"  
  
Aiyana stared back at Michiru with the calm of someone who had just been read her breakfast menu. She slowly cocked an eyebrow over one of those intense blue eyes.  
  
"So, is that me?"  
  
"Very likely, except for one glaringly large problem."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"This baby is way, way too old."  
  
"What?!" Ami exclaimed.  
  
"As in, predating the Cold Sleep. Unless there was some superhuman way those Alpha people reconstructed you to be immortal, we've got a really big identification problem on our hands."  
  
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AN: You know where to send 'em. Comments? Questions? Flames? (especially the latter ^_^) Me pyromaniac. *fires up the blowtorch* -- julymoonbunny@hotmail.com  
  
I couldn't help it. I really like Mamoru's dub name. It's sort of sexy. Besides, you don't believe that he would just give his real name out like that, do you? Even if the local Irish peoples didn't know it, he could bet his WIFE and her FRIENDS did. *shrugs*  
  
Why he picked something so obvious was behind me, but remember my friends, it's only obvious to you and I and the other people who have seen both the dub and the original. Or the dub. Original peoples are probably lost. By the way, that's really what his name means. It's probably closer to "wealthy one who protects" or something like that, but close enough.  
  
*comes back* Oh YEAH! I just remembered. All that gobbledygook that came from Ami's computer? Pure bs. I made it up off the top of my head and it means absolutely nothing. I don't know UNIX from rat's ass and I'm pretty sure none of that was a valid UNIX command. Maybe I should name it something else.  
  
*revises*  
  
I LURVE Chex. Almost as much as Cookie Crisp. The 'ke' part was just nifty. 


	20. Just A Passing Pain

1 Chapter Twenty – Just A Passing Pain  
  
***  
  
"They say things happen in threes." Masaya turned to Aiyana. "Tenoh-san and Kaioh-san found out about your parentage – that's number one. I wonder what two and three are going to be?"  
  
His voice sounded a little bitter, and Aiyana had to turn away from him. He had been seething earlier, and Aiyana couldn't tell whether he was furious because of what Haruka and Michiru were speculating, or because they had all kept it hidden from him for so long. Aiyana figured it must have been a little bit of both.  
  
Masaya sighed. "I can't believe – why would –" He shook his head. "I can't believe that Tenoh-san and Kaioh-san would believe such a thing. Why would they believe that King Endymion-sama did anything to trespass on his fidelity with Queen Serenity-sama? I know that they are very much in love. They have been for centuries." He shook his head again and looked up at Aiyana. "He never would, Aiyana."  
  
"Perhaps you're right," she said, staring at Masaya. There was a catch in her voice – she wasn't about to cry again, but the catch was still there, evidencing her hurt.  
  
"I know I'm right." His voice was forceful. He then turned to Aiyana. "Why did you keep it all a secret from me?"  
  
"I—" Aiyana stopped and furtively clutched her stomach, trying in vain to stop the sharp pain that was slicing through it. This pain had happened a little earlier, too – like all her muscles were tightening into a little ball that was trying to squeeze itself to death. The pain was very strong and quite unbearable, but she merely sucked a little breath and tried to pretend as if it hadn't happened. Lately the little one had been kicking her harder, sometimes in organs she hadn't even known were surrounding that part of her body. There had been pain there, but never quite like this.  
  
"I didn't want to have to talk about it with you."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Masaya became a little bit closer to Aiyana, staring her in the eye. "I would have tried to be understanding. Tried. I mean, you never kept anything else from me, right?"  
  
"I suppose I haven't…" She stared at him again. The pain was happening a little more frequently now. Earlier it had passed…stopped. Come again and passed. They were each about 30 to 45 mintues apart. But this pain…was coming more quickly. She closed her eyes momentarily, trying to look as if she were exasperated instead of hurting.  
  
Masaya was immediately suspicious. "Aiyana, is something wrong?"  
  
"No," she said. *It's just a passing pain, that's all…nothing's going to happen to my baby…* She let out a breath as the pain subsided. "No. I haven't really kept anything from you. It's just that…well…everything in my life was so complicated, and then there was…you. You weren't complicated at all. You were a simple pleasure, and I never had to discuss any of these complications with you. Now you're going to be curious, you're going to want to know…"  
  
She supressed a short squeak and her hands unwittingly went to her stomach again.  
  
"Aiyana? Are you sure you're all right?"  
  
*Is there something wrong? Is that what he's asking?* "No…"  
  
"No, you're not all right? Aiyana, what's going on with you? Aiyana? Aiyana?!"  
  
Something warm and…wet. Aiyana's eyes widened when she realized that something was dripping down between her legs, wet and steadily becoming very uncomfortable. Was she becoming incontinent? How embarassing! She struggled to stay put, but she could help lolling forewards and clutching her stomach again. She felt like she wanted to shriek, but the pain came out on a low, slow moan instead.  
  
Masaya thankfully stood up and away from her – but that only allowed him to see the wet puddle that was staining the bedsheets around her. His pupils dilated drastically. However, his voice was calm.  
  
"Oh my god. Her water broke."  
  
***  
  
"Get her into a delivery room right away and I don't want to hear any more arguing!"  
  
"But…your ladyship, I…"  
  
"Stop calling me that, dolt. I'm a doctor, not a lady of the court. And I said *now*!"  
  
"Isn't this the young assassin, your – ah, doctor?"  
  
Dr. Amesuino Ami stormed up to the orderly who hovered at the door of Aiyana's hospital room. "Put that woman on a gurney and get her to the delivery room or I'll give your job to her child!"  
  
The orderly nodded reluctantly and signaled to his comrades. In minutes they had Aiyana in the delivery room, where she squirmed uncomfortably on the hospital bed.  
  
Ami looked at the woman, empathy surging to her heart. She looked so scared and uncomfortable, and so in pain. Her face was paler than it had ever been, and her hands were shaking slightly. Ami went to go stand by the side of the hospital bed, smiling.  
  
Aiyana stared up into the watery blue eyes above her, but they were hazy and a black ring circled the placid face of the doctor. "What's going on, Ami?"  
  
"You're going into labor."  
  
"But I thought you said it took nine months."  
  
"Normally, it does. But there seems to be a few complications, and you're going into labor a little early." *Seven weeks early,* she thought to herself, but said nothing like that to Aiyana. The tone of her voice would have been resentful, and she didn't want to worry Aiyana. In truth, she didn't even resent the girl – she resented herself. *When the mucous plug came out and she started leaking the amniotic fluid, I should have known then,* she told herself. *I should have done something to prevent the early labor. I'll never forgive myself if—*  
  
"Ami?" Aiyana said. Her voice sounded very small, very different from the voice she had six months ago when she first came to Crystal Tokyo. Back then, it was slinky, sultry; now it was husky and afraid. "Is there something wrong with me? Will it turn out okay?"  
  
"Babies born in their twenty-ninth week have a pretty good chance of surviving, yes," Ami said reassuringly. "Your baby has a good chance of surviving, with some good doctoral work and cooperation from you and everyone involved. That's why I had the best nurse midwives paged so that they come assist you. One of them is highly experienced with pre-term labor."  
  
"Why does it *hurt* so much?"  
  
Ami chuckled a little. "Your uterus' muscles are contracting so that they can push out the baby when it gets ready to come into the world. It hurts, rather like menstruation."  
  
"Push out? Don't you cut the stomach and pull it out?"  
  
"No, that's a Cesarian section, and you won't need that. You're going to give birth the normal way."  
  
Aiyana groaned. "Isn't there something that's going to stop—" She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence: another contraction overtook her ability to speak.  
  
Ami smirked. "Stop the pain? Yes, of course. There's a drug for everything." She stopped smiling and strode to the other side of the room, pressing a button on the pager. "Dr. Koikokoro-sensei to delivery room D- 901. Better make that stat."  
  
***  
  
Aiyana never knew that a delivery room with babies and mothers giving birth in it could be so loud. She had envisioned a quiet nursery, her holding a bundle of blankets and waiting for the child to come out peacefully. Instead, there were nurses yelling at each other, Ami and Masaya were yelling at each other, and Ami was yelling at her to push.  
  
Push what? She pondered that until Masaya knelt down and whispered to her very quietly what Ami had meant by 'giving birth the normal way.'  
  
"But…it's not big enough."  
  
Masaya burst into laughter. "It gets bigger."  
  
And then, there was the pain. Pain had always been her constant companion – through the beatings of the Deltas, through the battles they suffered through, through the emotional pain that was inflicted on her. But it was never anything like this. She wondered why more mothers weren't members of the military – they had to be incredibly superhuman to go through pain like this three, four, five times.  
  
But Masaya was there.  
  
That was the single calming factor throughout all the pain and her tiny, weak pushes that were becoming stronger and stronger as she conceded that this child just did not want to leave her body. She was drifting in and out of sleep, not that she thought anyone noticed, but her feeling Masaya's hand on hers had continued throughout the whole grueling process. He was talking to her, too, but that hardly mattered. She could barely hear him over the clamor of the delivery room. She just felt his hand…soft and yet strong, completely encompassing hers. Somehow that was more reassuring than his words or anything else.  
  
Somewhere in between Ami yelling "Push!" for the umpteenth time and Ami and the oldest nurse midwife yelling at each other over some stupid old wives' tale that the midwife had brought up, someone lifted her up. Two more people held her in place and she felt something poke through the skin in her back. Someone was saying something to her, but she couldn't hear it…she could barely hear anything anymore. Her eyes were drooping shut and she had no idea what was going on around her. She felt like her head was going to float off.  
  
"Aiyana?" Masaya's voice was quiet, whispering, and she wondered how she could even hear it over the din. But she realized she *couldn't* hear the din. Everything was quiet, and it seemed as if she and Masaya were the only ones in the room. "She can't tell you when to stop, you dimwit…she's drifting off. Aiyana, darling, you have to stay awake, okay? Stay awake. You can't go to sleep. You can't…Aiyana…"  
  
The nonexistent doctor said something, and Masaya ran a nervous hand through his hair. She struggled to smile and acknowledge the fact that he had called her *darling*. The word ran through her mind like a refrain. *Darling…darling…darling…*  
  
"Aiyana? Stop giving her the drug, stupid, it's knocking her out!"  
  
Yes, it certainly was knocking her out. She could barely feel the pain any longer and she was drifting away…away from all the confusion and clamor.  
  
Hours must have passed, but she barely tracked the passage of time. It seemed like forever and virtually no time all at once. She was drifting further away from the scene at hand, but Masaya's hand clutching hers was like a tether to this world, keeping her grounded. After an eternity, she heard what sounded like a faint, distant screeching, a faraway sound.  
  
She looked up and saw Masaya's eyes hovering above her own. He brushed away her bangs as he always did and gave her a sweet, sweet kiss.  
  
"It's a little girl, Aiyana-chan."  
  
Aiyana nodded sleepily. She had sensed it must have come out. The pain had seeped away, slowly but surely. Ami was talking to Masaya…something about some sort of cord or something. Aiyana wasn't paying attention. She nodded weakly when Masaya looked at her…something in his voice sounded like it was asking for permission. He squeezed her hand, his cheeks getting pink in anticipation, and strode towards Ami holding something pink, letting her hand go.  
  
The tether was broken.  
  
Aiyana began to drift.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
AN: Hiya. Finally got Chapter Twenty out. Please e-mail me if there's any problems or concerns: julymoonbunny@hotmail.com  
  
Um…I just want to say, someone asked if I was planning on continuing this story. Most definitely. It's my first published fanfiction, and I plan on finishing it all the way to the end. Believe me, you will know when I'm finished. 


	21. Let The King and Queen Decide

1 Chapter Twenty-One – Let The King And Queen Decide  
  
***  
  
"Dr. Amesuino-sensei."  
  
Ami looked up from the glass window that peeked into the nursery. Little Aiyana, as she had nicknamed the baby, was resting two rows back from it, kicking her tiny legs within the incubator and was already trying to grab her toes. The child was screaming and had not stopped since Masaya had cut the umbilical cord from it's tiny stomach.  
  
At three pounds, eleven ounces, the tiny thing was only seven inches long. Masaya had held the child on one hand, marveling at the tiny proportions of it. She had caught him later on, counting the fingers and toes of the child and making sure it was all there. Little Aiyana was completely formed, just very tiny. She did, however, have a healthy, loud voice. Ami was so afraid that she would come out completely silent, but the child hadn't stopped shrieking since her mouth had freed her mother's perineum.  
  
Her mother. Ami sighed when she thought of the poor young woman. She was barely holding on throughout the birth, and as soon as the little one was out she had collapsed into a deep sleep, unconscious. Three days later, she hadn't regained consciousness yet and Masaya was frantic with worry, the fact that she was perfectly all right notwithstanding. Ami had found no afterbirth complications or anything – it was just a post-partum fatigue that would probably go away in a few days.  
  
"Dr. Amesuino-sensei, there's a call on line two for you."  
  
"I'll get it." Who could possibly be calling her right now? She hoped Izumi had found the note she left about the chicken being in the refrigerator to thaw. She walked to the receptionists' counter and lifted the phone off the hook, then undepressed the hold button.  
  
"Ami-chan, is that you?"  
  
Minako's voice. Ami shifted her weight and leaned against the desk. "Mina- chan. What are you calling me at work for? Is there something wrong?"  
  
Minako was silent for a moment. Then: "Oh, yes. Something is definitely wrong."  
  
Ami recoiled. Minako's voice was icy. "What happened? Is everyone all right."  
  
"*You* won't be all right for much longer, doctor. Get to my house right *now*. Everyone else is already here, including your husband. I believe your last birthing is already completed, so you are free to come right *now*."  
  
Click.  
  
Ami dropped the phone, her face going pale. But no! How had Minako…  
  
She turned to the receptionist. "I've got to go. Get someone to fill for me. It's extremely important and I can't explain, but I've got to get out of here."  
  
***  
  
"Your highness, we should be landing on Earth four days from now."  
  
The emperor made a face as the ship made a bumpy exit from the asteroid belt of this solar system. So far, they'd been caught in a windstorm in the rings of Uranus and had nearly crashed into a series of moons clustered close together on the Jovian scope – and discovered that there were a lot more than the 32 moons that the Earthians had discovered. "Are you sure that we're not going to hit anything else this time?"  
  
"Postive, your highness. Since we have to avoid the wake of the planet Mars, we have to steer clear of the gravitational force and that's going to cause an extra day to be added on. But once we escape Mars, we have straight space travel to Earth and then, we're going down for the landing. We should get there on the evening of the third day from now, a few hours after their sun sets."  
  
"Perfect. I don't think I can wait much longer," the emperor said, grinning. He turned to his son, who was staring out of the window of the ship. "What do you think, Tamashiiro-kun?"  
  
"Hmm?" Tamashiiro looked up absently, searching for the voice that had addressed him. "Oh, yes. I…can't wait."  
  
***  
  
"Ami, how could you? Keep this from your family, your friends, the people you have been with for years and years?" Rei shook her head, unable to speak.  
  
"You betrayed us," Minako came in, standing up. "You betrayed us. Mitsuru betrayed us, Masaya betrayed us, and worst of all, you and Mako betrayed us. How do you think it felt for Rei to get information from her thirteen- year-old daughter that should have come from you?"  
  
Ami dropped her head. She willed away the tears that were rushing to her eyes, stinging them behind the outer layers. "I…I wasn't trying to betray you all. I was only—"  
  
"Only trying to protect a trained assassin that tried to kill your best friend, the one true love that we ever were destined to have in the universe?" Minako shook her head in disbelief. "Usagi is the one who opened the way for us, who gave us a new life in lieu of protecting her forever. She cared for us, she loved us, and this is how you repay her!"  
  
"This isn't about Usagi," Ami said.  
  
"It isn't? Who the hell—"  
  
"She's right," Mitsuru said. His temper was comparable to Minako's, and he was beginning to get worked up. "This is not about Usagi. Usagi was in no danger here. This child just wanted to give birth to her baby and be on her way. She had no further desire to harm anyone on this planet."  
  
"But to hide it from us all this time!" Minako said. "And to let her near my son!"  
  
Minako stepped to the window of her family room, staring through it. Emi and Masaya were both gone, Masaya at the hospital, Emi somewhere with her friends. That was precisely why she had called the meeting at her house – it was easier to get rid of the children there than anywhere else, since hers were older.  
  
As predicted by the perceptive doctor, Rei had always run closer to Minako. Evidently, her own daughter had told her friends. While Emi had been able to keep her mouth shut, Megami had accidently bluterted it out to her brother, her mother overhearing – a fact that Ami was already aware of. Izumi didn't need to tell her mother.  
  
The only other girl remaining was Hitomi. Understanding the severity of the situation, she had thought it best to make a very wise decision, knowing that the lives of people depended on it. However, the details and special circumstances were left out of it, and her understanding of the severity was based heavily on Izumi's retelling of the story. So she had gone to Izumi, requesting more information by pretending to be merely curious. Then she had taken the story straight to her mother, explaining that she thought Neo-Queen Selenity and Usa might be in danger.  
  
Rei had been completely shocked. But instead of confronting Ami about it as Mako had done, she'd called Minako and discussed it with her. Minako confirmed the tale by calling the hospital and asking for the day's activity, simple as that. Her status as protectress of Queen Selenity had aided her in getting the information that she needed, and that's when she started calling people.  
  
"You let her near my son."  
  
Ami heard the pain in her voice and suddenly felt angry. Minako must have also known that Masaya had developed feelings for the young woman at the hospital – the way she said it and the way she stared betrayed that.  
  
"She didn't hurt Masaya-kun anymore than she hurt me or any of the others in the hospital. She was completely congenial to everyone."  
  
"You kept her alive using deceit," Minako said. "Her crime was punishable by execution!"  
  
"But should the child inside her have also been punished?"  
  
Everyone was surprised to hear Sadayoshi speak. He had been quiet the entire time, as had the rest of the husbands, save Mitsuru and his one line of speech. But he spoke now with his voice resonating as a low bell pitch.  
  
Minako studied her husband curiously. "What are you getting at?"  
  
"Executing her would have killed the baby inside her. Would that have been fair to the child?"  
  
"Was it fair that her mother brought it into the world unwed anyway?" Minako shook her head. "Does she even know…"  
  
Ami looked up. "Of course she knows."  
  
Minako paled. And Ami got the picture.  
  
"NO, baka Minako!" she exclaimed. "Aiyana was already one month pregnant when she arrived on Earth."  
  
"You knew?"  
  
"Of course not! We ran a test, about her second or third week here."  
  
"Wait, just one? She's only been here for six months," said Mako.  
  
"Pre-term labor," said Ami. "The child is premature. You should have seen her. She's only three pounds and eleven ounces, and she's seven inches long. Masaya can nearly hold her all in one hand."  
  
Minako closed her eyes as if in pain.  
  
"But it's not like you think. It wasn't a voluntary act, she was raped. The attacker had no kind of contraceptive, so Aiyana was vulnerable, and she became pregnant. What was more, she was a virgin when it happened."  
  
"And you believe her?" Minako asked.  
  
"Of course," Ami said indignantly. "Why would she be lying?"  
  
"For pity, for the use of our planet, to get sympathy, to stay here without any repercussions! Why wouldn't she lie?"  
  
"Because trained assassins don't lie to get sympathy," said Sadayoshi. "They lie to deceive, to kill, but if she wanted to lie to still get to Neo- Queen Selenity, she would have killed her as soon as she had won Ami's trust. But no – she hasn't made a move yet."  
  
"And," said Mitsuru, "what crossed my mind is that she didn't do some kind of makeshift abortion, or killed herself. Whatever happened to this girl, she still has a deep respect for human life. She was afraid that night, I know she was. I can feel it. And she didn't want to kill that baby inside of her."  
  
"And why should we execute her if she hasn't done anything?" Sadayoshi finished. "We don't execute potential murderers – just murderers."  
  
Minako looked helplessly at the three men standing against her. "What, are you all for her now?"  
  
"I think we need to see where everyone stands on this," said Mako, "so we can decide what to do with the young girl when she does wake up."  
  
"Wake up?"  
  
"She's in a deep sleep," Ami said. "Almost catatonic. She withdrew after the birth, and she hasn't woken since."  
  
"I think we all know Ami and Minako's feelings on the matter," said Rei. "Personally, I don't know. I'm still deeply hurt that she would keep such a thing from us…" Her eyes drifted to Ami. "And although she hasn't made a move yet, she still might. I think we need to be as cautious as possible, and incarcerate her."  
  
"I move for non-incarceration," Mako said forcefully. "She has done nothing else to warrant this move, and she's already been deeply hurt – raped, abused, and then she's on an alien planet? She's been completely trusting of Ami and has never done anything to hurt her – and the same has been true with Masaya." Her eyes shifted to Minako. "I think we should just let her be."  
  
Sadayoshi and Mitsuru exchanged glances.  
  
"She watched my kids," Mitsuru said, as if in awe. "She was in my house. She baked cookies for them, played with them, made them dinner, let them feel the baby quickening inside her stomach. The twins loved her. They keep asking where she is and asking for her to come back."  
  
"Izumi didn't enjoy her company too much," said Ami, "but only because she felt like she was moving in on her turf."  
  
"I liked her. She seemed like a responsible, mature young woman."  
  
Sadayoshi was silent for a moment.  
  
"My son doesn't seem to have any qualms with her."  
  
Minako winced.  
  
"How do you know?" Ami asked.  
  
"I'm more observant than you think, Dr. Amesuino-sensei," Sadayoshi said, winking at the doctor. "Sometimes when Minako was grilling Masaya, I'd catch his tone as he talked aboutt her. He seemed to think that she was pretty trustworthy, and Masaya is a pretty good judge of character."  
  
"You're going to go on the thoughts of a twenty-two-year-old?" Minako asked.  
  
"Koibito, do you know how dumb that sounded?"  
  
"Wait," said Mako, turning to her husband. "Ieyasu hasn't said anything the whole time we were here. What do you think?"  
  
Ieyasu looked at the seven pairs of eyes staring at him and shrugged a little. "I don't know enough about the situation to say. I knew about it when Mako found out – I happened to be in the kitchen when Megami leaked it – but I don't know what Ami has told Mako. We all don't know anything more about this girl than Ami does. Ami and Mitsuru are the only ones who have made intimate contact with her, and Sadayoshi bases his opinions heavily on his son's view of her, which I think is all right because Masaya's very smart and pretty sensible. They are biased towards her. But then again, so are Rei, Minako, and Sanetoki – no, don't say anything, I saw your face. You didn't have to talk. Mako and I are only basing what we know against what we've heard, and Mako has voted towards her because of the influence of Ami, who is also biased."  
  
"So what are you getting at?" Minako asked.  
  
Ieyasu smiled. "I think we should let a totally unbiased party of two discuss the fate of our young assassin – the only ones that should count in the first place anyway."  
  
Fourteen eyebrows raised questioningly.  
  
"I think we should let the king and queen decide."  
  
***  
  
The dark-haired woman sat down on the lacy bed once again, the energy slowly returning. That last battle with life had drained a lot from her, but she had to be strong. If not for herself, for her only daughter.  
  
She was drifting away, her daughter – drifting away. She thought she'd be safer inside, if she never came out. There would be no one to judge her and no one to hurt her anymore, and she wouldn't have to find out the truth about herself.  
  
She was, in fact, turning out to be a lot like her mother.  
  
But this woman had been down that road before, and she was not going to let her daughter travel down it. That was what had caused her to be lost in the first place – the misery and the sadness. She should have gone looking, should have increased her efforts. But she'd immersed herself in her own problems and nearly lost her daughter through it all.  
  
She wouldn't let herself do that again. She only had a little bit of strength left, but by God, if she had to use it up she wanted to do so saving her daughter.  
  
For that, she would give every ounce of vitality she had.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
AN: Confusing enough? I think I confused myself…  
  
This was in anticipation of another reader, who asked if Selenity was going to make an entrance any time soon. She was going to come in, but later. I decided here to speed it up a little – a few people have been asking for her.  
  
Any questions, send to julymoonbunny@hotmail.com. 


	22. Five Years Old For Nine Hundred Years

1 Chapter Twenty-Two – Five Years Old For Nine Hundred Years  
  
***  
  
Masaya shifted the tiny pink bundle in his arms and gazed back down at it. Her face was so entirely cute, it was hard not to cry looking at her. After six months of waiting…here she finally was – in the flesh, alive, awake, and doing well.  
  
And Aiyana. She'd waited for seven months and a week, and she'd been the one with the child inside of her. The baby was tiny, yes, and she'd needed incubator care. Ami had said that as soon as Aiyana awoke, she wanted the child to go into hospice – which was basically a method that took the child off artificial life support and put her under the care of her mother, with lots of tender loving care. One of the things that she said would help was "kangaroo mother care," where Little Aiyana would be happily nestled in Aiyana's clothes, kept warm from the outside world with easy access to her meals.  
  
However, Aiyana could only give the child such care if she woke up. Which was the reason he had come to Aiyana's room in the maternity ward – to see if she would wake up. He wanted her daughter and him to be the first two people that she saw when she woke up. She hadn't even had a chance to hold the little girl – when he left her side to cut the umbilical cord of the little girl, she had slipped away into \ post-partum fatigue.  
  
"Aiyana, it's me, Masaya-kun," he whispered, sitting in the chair by her bed. It rocked and was much more comfortable than the folding chair in her old hospital room, for the comfort of the nursing mothers. The room was also more prettily decorated, with designs that would be conducive to the baby's growth and happiness within it. This room was done in shades of lavender and pastel yellow.  
  
"Me and your baby, I mean," he amended, smiling softly at Aiyana's sleeping form. She appeared to only be in a light, short sleep, ready to wake up any time. But she had been asleep for five days now. "She wants to see her mommy. You have to wake up so you can see her. She's absolutely beautiful, Aiyana. I can tell she's going to look like you someday, except—"  
  
Masaya took a deep breath. "Except that her eyes look different than yours. She opened them really briefly, and we saw that they're this pretty hazel color, very warm and expressive. I wonder if she got that from her daddy." He scowled without even knowing it. "She must have, of course.  
  
"Aiyana, you haven't even named her yet. She needs a name, and she needs her mommy to feed her. Ami wanted to hold off on the bottle feeding, and I don't know how they've been feeding her, but she says that you have a right to make that choice yourself. I think you'll want to breast-feed her. It's better for the baby, actually. I'm sure Little Aiyana would appreciate it." He smiled down at the sleeping baby. "Wouldn't you, Little Aiyana? That's what we started calling her. Little Aiyana. Because she looks just like you. But she sure doesn't act like you. She's been screaming since she came out."  
  
That made him smile agan. "Except when I picked her up. She even screamed when Ami came near her, and stopped playing with her toes. But when I picked her up out of the nursery, she didn't cry at all, just looked up at me. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever experienced…having a baby not be afraid of me. Knowing me. Feeling close to me." He stared back at Aiyana. "Babies have this sixth sense about them. Maybe Little Aiyana sensed that I would keep her safe when I was with her, that she wouldn't have any problems with me.  
  
"I'd keep you safe too, Aiyana," Masaya said, his voice dropping in volume. "I won't let anything happen to you, not now. Not after you've had this baby. Because now I look at you…" He sighed heavily. "I had myself convinced that maybe I only wanted to be with you because you were pregnant. I do love children, and the prospect of another one being brought into the world was wonderful.  
  
"But now you've had the baby, and I found I…care for you…more than ever. I've come in here everyday, even the days when I'm not working at the hospital, just to look at you while you sleep and to talk to you and try to get you to wake up. And I didn't always bring the baby with me. I was a little selfish at first – when I woke up, I wanted to keep you all to myself." Masaya's smile was sheepish now, watery. "It wasn't just because of Little Aiyana, or because I felt sorry for you, or anything. I didn't know your baby then, and I still don't know her well enough to want to get to her through you.  
  
"But I know you. And…I love you. I didn't want to say the words before. I didn't want to believe they were true. I still think they violate some kind of ethical code or something, but I don't care anymore…this is different, Aiyana. I love you, and I won't let anything my mother or the Senshi do endanger your life, if it means that I have to spirit you out of here in the middle of the night. I won't let them. I promise you that."  
  
He stood up, not even noticing that a tear had slipped from his eyes and was rolling down his cheek, even as he held Aiyana's child. "Didn't you hear me, Aiyana? I love you. Isn't that supposed to make you wake up miraculously or something? That's the way it always happens in the movies." He laughed bitterly. "I guess that's not the way that it happens in real life, though. You're going to stay asleep until you're ready. But that's okay. I'll just wait until you're ready to wake up. I know you can hear me. I'll just wait until you're ready. Then I'll come back. I'll try to be here before you wake, okay?"  
  
He leaned over the bed and prepared to kiss her forehead, but changed his mind and pressed his lips to hers. "Goodbye, Aiyana. I'll be back when you wake up."  
  
***  
  
*Aiyana, wake up. Come on now, darling. It's important for you to wake up.*  
  
~Why should I?~ Aiyana asked. ~I'm safe in here. I don't have to face them. I don't have to face him.~  
  
*You don't have to do anything in there. But this is not good. Didn't you hear him?*  
  
~I didn't hear anything.~  
  
*Don't lie. You heard him. Your baby needs you, Aiyana. You have the food that she needs, as well as the love and the care. You're her mother. You're a mother now. You have a responsibility to that baby.*  
  
~No responsibilities. None of this would have ever happened if I hadn't screwed up. That day at school…~  
  
*You remember that?* The voice was startled, taken aback, shaky. *What happened that day, Aiyana?*  
  
~I don't know. I don't really remember. I just have this hazy vision. It's not at all clear. I don't know. I just said something.~ If she were floating in the real world, Aiyana would have eyed the voice, but there was nothing to eye. ~What do you know?~  
  
*Aiyana, Masaya loves you.*  
  
~He loves Little Aiyana.~  
  
*He loves *you*. He said that. He told you. You heard him. You're really there, not here. Go back to the real world…take care of your daughter…* The voice was desperate, clinging.  
  
~Why do you care so much?~ Aiyana asked bitterly.  
  
*Masaya loves you, Aiyana. Don't disappoint him. Take care of your daughter as I couldn't take care of you…Aiyana.*  
  
Aiyana sat up in her virtual ward. ~Take care of me? Who are you?~  
  
* I wasn't able to take care of you. I wasn't able to take care of *my* daughter. Take care of *your* daughter.*  
  
~Your daughter *and* I? Who are you?!~  
  
*Take care of your daughter.*  
  
~Mother?!~  
  
***  
  
"Mother?!"  
  
"Mother? Girl, you're crazy. Were you having some kind of dream or something? Because I sure ain't your mother."  
  
Aiyana blinked hard, looking around. Her entrance back into this world hadn't been miraculous. The only other person in the room was an older nurse, bustling around and cleaning things up. She fluffed Aiyana's pillows – although the girl was no longer laying on them – and stood back to study her, making a *tsk tsking* sound. "You look horrible," said the nurse, shaking her head. "You need some food. And if I'm not mistaken, that baby of yours will probably want some, too. Let's go see if we can get them both."  
  
Aiyana shook her head. She wasn't floating in oblivion, speaking to some faceless voice any longer. She was back, awake in the hospital room, and hungry.  
  
And her stomach was completely flat.  
  
Her baby! Her heart jumped. Her baby was alive, outside of her body, and she hadn't been there to greet it into the world. She had been selfish, hiding out within herself. Her baby had gone for…how long?…without her mother's care. What had she done? How could she have?  
  
"I'll be right back," the nurse said.  
  
***  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
The nurse looked up absently at the doctor for a split second before bending back at the task at hand. "I'm taking this baby to her mother, as well as this food. She looks beat, and she's hungry."  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"Both," the nurse said, chuckling.  
  
Masaya looked again at which incubator she was reaching into. "Ma'am, I think that's the wrong one."  
  
"Little Khalidah Aiyana, right?"  
  
Masaya sat up in his chair. "Yes, that's her. But her mother—"  
  
"Just woke up. She's powerfully hungry and she wants to see her baby. Could you grab the food while I get the baby?" When the nurse turned around to see the look on Masaya's face, she smiled. "Make that vice versa."  
  
***  
  
"Masaya-kun! Please, calm down! My child is in your arms!"  
  
He planted one last kiss on her nose before he paid attention to her, sitting in the comfy rocking chair by the bed. "I didn't hurt her, I swear I didn't, Aiyana. I was just so happy to see you – awake and alive and well—"  
  
"All right." Aiyana giggled a little, then looked up at Masaya, eyes dancing. "May I hold her?"  
  
"May you?" Masaya said incredulously. "She's yours!" He handed the little pink bundle over to Aiyana, which she gratefully took. The baby, which had been gurgling loudly and was dangerously on the verge of breaking into a fit of tears from all the fuss Masaya had been making, sighed and shifted position, quieting.  
  
"Oh." The little exhalation of breath was the only sound Aiyana could formulate. Could this perfect tiny form actually have come from her body? Everything was perfectly formed – ten fingers, ten toes, tiny baby hands and feet, and she was small enough to fit in the crook of one arm. She had dark curly hair on her small head. Her eyes were open and Aiyana could see that they were the warm, luminous amber that Masaya had described.  
  
"They are her father's," she whispered.  
  
"What?" Masaya asked sharply.  
  
Aiyana looked up, into curious grey-blue eyes. "Her eyes," she said. "You said they must have been her daddy's. They are. The Second Delta had eyes just like that."  
  
Masaya stared at the floor.  
  
"Masaya-sensei," Aiyana said, leaning forward. "As far as I'm concerned…you're more Little Aiyana's father than him. He hasn't been here to help me…even the liaison that created this perfect life was horrible and undesirable. There's no way that I have feelings for him over you. No way. Don't even believe it for a minute."  
  
Masaya smiled, looking back up at her. "I guess I just have a jealousy problem," he said, ducking his head. "Maybe I had some crazy notion my head that somehow…she'd look like…well, like me."  
  
Aiyana smiled. "She already has your sweet, quiet disposition."  
  
"Quiet? That baby has been screaming since she came out."  
  
"And so have you."  
  
Masaya laughed. "Yeah, I'm not too quiet myself." He stared back at Aiyana, then down at her baby, and finally back up at Aiyana.  
  
"I love you, too," she said softly.  
  
He hugged her and kissed her, gently.  
  
"Help me feed her," Aiyana said, smiling, "before she starts screaming and whacks me with one of her perfect little hands. Now, how do I do that? I have a feeling it's another embarrassing place."  
  
Masaya burst into laughter.  
  
***  
  
Ami frantically but meticulously poured the chemicals together. Aiyana's life rested in this paternity test. If she could prove that Endymion was truly Aiyana's father, then she could try to persuade the king to rule in favor of Aiyana. For some reason, Endymion had hid Aiyana for years – if he truly was her father – and if she truly were his child, and she could prove it, Aiyana might be able to live freely on Earth with asylum. Endymion could pretty much get Selenity to agree to anything.  
  
There was a knock on the laboratory door, and Ami scowled. She'd told those workers to have no one bother her. "Who is it?" she demanded.  
  
"Us." The voices of Tenoh Haruka and Kaioh Michiru floated through the door.  
  
Ami hurried to unlock the door, and the two came in. "So how's progress with the paternity test coming out."  
  
"Great. I am able to cross-check all the blood types and they come out exactly right. I just have to work out a few bugs that may affect the results and I'll be all done…and then I can check."  
  
"Do you really think you should bother? Tomoe Keiko, the baby in the records, was born about the time of the Cold Sleep – perhaps a little before or after. Those records are unbelievably old."  
  
"Hai," Haruka said. "If that really were Aiyana, that would make her…just over nine hundred years old."  
  
Silence ensued in the room as Michiru, Haruka, and Ami exchanged glances, eyes widening as they realized what Haruka had just said.  
  
"Chibi-usa…is over nine hundred years old, yet she appears thirteen!" Ami said. "There has to be an explanation! Tomoe Keiko *could* really be Aiyana!"  
  
"I have another theory," said Michiru, smirking. "Since my first one worked so well, let's try the new one."  
  
"Go on."  
  
"I speculate…that the ginzuishou had something to do with this."  
  
Haruka rolled her eyes. "Thank you, scientist Michiru."  
  
"No, listen. When Sailormoon wished for her life to continue forever with her friends at the end of the battles before the Cold Sleep, she wished for all of us to live young immortally. None of your children were conceived at the time, so they would continue to grow normally. But Chibi-usa was conceived at the time, and obviously, so was Aiyana."  
  
"So you're saying that the ginzuishou caused them both to stop growing?"  
  
"Didn't Chibi-usa stay five years old for nine hundred years?"  
  
Haruka and Ami nodded. "So…the ginzuishou could have selected an age for each girl to stop growing," Ami said, nodding. "Chibi-usa's body stopped growing at five, and Aiyana's stopped growing at…another age. Until Selenity reversed the effects of the crystal and made them age faster, but still much slower. So Aiyana might not have even realized that she was aging very slowly…"  
  
"…especially if she had someone to convince her that she was perfectly normal." Haruka nodded. "Her mother could have reassured her of that constantly, telling her it was all normal. She could have easily explained her daughter's aging problem because the Irish authorities and school system knew she was from Crystal Tokyo, and they would have cooperated." She shook her head. "It's all falling into place now. Tomoe Keiko *could* be Khalidah Aiyana."  
  
Ami remained silent and slid off the cabinet, slinking over to the modified paternity machine. She tinkered with the chemicals a little bit more, then slid the vial into the refined opening where the liquid would have been poured before – she'd changed it to make it more accurate. Tentatively pressing the button, she and the other two Senshi watched the printout side for the results.  
  
A = 3567012, AB = 849306  
  
Subject Mmrx20%Ayn  
  
Formula match-up T175469YJH774  
  
Blood match-up 20%paternity  
  
...test results positive  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
AN: …  
  
Comments and questions: julymoonbunny@hotmail.com 


	23. Divided Like This

1 Chapter Twenty-Three – Divided Like This  
  
***  
  
"All right, what are we all congregated for? And why so formal? What's the deal here?"  
  
"Your highness," Sailorvenus said, causing Neo-Queen Selenity to frown. "We've come to bring a very important matter to your attention."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"The fate of the attempted assassin, Aiyana Khalidah." Sailorvenus stood up straighter before the queen.  
  
The queen furrowed her brows. "Well, this is different," she said.  
  
King Endymion felt his blood run cold. Why now? He'd received another letter in the mail. Despite his wife's ignorance as to the situation in the hospital, Hotaru had informed him that his daughter had been pregnant and had recently given birth to the child, a little girl, at the hospital – a fact that Ami was trying to keep concealed carefully. From the looks of things, it didn't seem as if she had done too good of a job of that.  
  
"Is everything all right with her?" Endymion said, swallowing heavily at the word 'fate.' He didn't want to kill the girl, but perhaps incarcerating her for a while would do some good. At least until Usa's sixteenth birthday.  
  
If she could just hold off until Usa's sixteenth birthday.  
  
"Sailormercury-dono said she was checking up on her information. Vital statistics, disease prevention for you and the queen, making sure she hadn't anything fatal that would endanger your lives from wherever she came," Sailorjupiter said.  
  
"Instead, she had been hiding for the whole time that the young woman was pregnant. She recently gave birth to a daughter. This fact had been hidden from the knowledge of the other three of us for quite some time," Sailormars said.  
  
Neo-Queen Selenity recoiled. "She was pregnant?"  
  
"Yes," said Sailormercury, smiling. That actually was not a good move on Sailormars' part. Although Selenity might be a little perturbed by the fact that the girl was pregnant far out of wedlock, with a little persuasion she could be reminded that she, too, had conceived her child before she had married Endymion. Albeit it was only a day, but technicalities could be incorporated within to the benefit of Aiyana. "But the act that created this pregnancy was anything but consensual. She was abused and raped twenty-nine to thirty weeks ago, which was the liaison that created the child."  
  
"Oh my," said Selenity, paling. "This is really too much information. I can't muddle through it right now."  
  
"Yes, you can," Sailorvenus said forcefully.  
  
"But…" Neo-Queen Selenity sighed. "What do you want me to do?"  
  
"I believe, your highness, that because of Aiy—the assassin's precarious position as a new mother and a victim of rape and abuse, that she should not be traumatized any further and should be granted asylum on this pla—um, in Crystal Tokyo."  
  
"And *I* believe, your highness, that the assassin is a danger to not only your well-being but to that of your family's, and that she should be incarcerated or excuted with expedience."  
  
Selenity shook her head sadly. "I've never seen you all divided like this before," she said quietly.  
  
The four senshi stared at the floor, a little ashamed by Selenity's tone. It was lightly reprimanding, but more sorrowful than anything.  
  
"If I know you, Jupiter-dono and Venus-dono have prepared dissertations on each of their beliefs on the matter." King Endymion raised an eyebrow.  
  
Sheepishly, Sailorjupter and Sailorvenus whipped out neatly prepared, crisp manila folders, containing inside the information they wished to present to the queen. Venus had prepared hers herself, being a paralegal, whereas Jupiter had secretly solicited help from a partner of Sadayoshi's. While the man was not on Venus' side, he would not directly go against her. He did, however, refer Jupiter to one of his best lawyers.  
  
King Endymion reached for the folders and took them from the two.  
  
"Your highnesses," Sailoruranus said. She and Neptune had been quietly and respectfully been standing away from the chaos, and they had not let on a hint that they had known any of this information before – they remained their laconic selves, only exchanging a glance at when it had been appropriate – Sailormars' outspoken consummation of the facts. "We would request that you did bequeath upon the matter three days' time of consideration. Please discuss it over between yourselves and come to a decision only after a rational talk."  
  
Endymion peered down at the records. "These aren't so very big. We could pore over them in a few hours. It seems like this is something very important."  
  
"I believe that the Outers' suggestion is wise," said Sailorjupiter. *They know something,* she said to herself. "It would allow you time to not only consider the arguments, which are more factual than anything, but also think about the danger to your own family."  
  
Selenity nodded. "I can't do this now," she said. "I have a headache. I can't deal with this. Please, leave. Go on about your business." Before the senshi left, she gave them one more reprimanding stare. "I can't believe you all. We've never been divided like this before."  
  
***  
  
"So why'd you ask for three days?" Mako had detransformed and joined the Outers and Ami at the hospital. "I know that you know something, and I know that you have something up your sleeve. So you might as well spill."  
  
The Outers looked at Ami, and she nodded wearily.  
  
"Last night, Aiyana's paternity test against the king came out positive."  
  
"No *way*!" Mako said, frowning. "Ami failed to mention anything about the paternity thing!"  
  
"We had reason to believe that King Endymion was somehow, in some convoluted manner, Aiyana's father. Turned out our hunch was right, and she is. How, we don't know."  
  
"So, is she Selenity's daughter? Because you know, she kind of looks like—"  
  
"Hotaru?" the three asked.  
  
Mako stepped back, waving her arms and shaking her head. "Oh, no. You're not telling me that Hotaru and – I mean, come on! Mamoru-san and *Hotaru- chan?!* That *so* does not *work*!"  
  
"We said the same thing," Michiru said. "Endymion is very faithful to Selenity, and he loves her so very much. And Hotaru would have never done anything to separate the two of them. We're just as confused and appalled as you are."  
  
Mako shook her head. "I refuse to believe it!"  
  
"Refuse this," Ami said bitterly, throwing the results at Mako's face. The brunette caught them and scanned them, cursing as she read them.  
  
"This can't be right!" she exclaimed. "Rerun it, something!"  
  
"How many times do you *think* I re-ran that test, Mako?!" Ami shrieked, throwing her hands up. "I don't want it to be true either!"  
  
"There has to be some kind of logical explanation for this," Mako said. "You know Mamoru-san better than I do Ami – you know he would *never* be unfaithful to Usagi-chan."  
  
Ami shrugged. "I don't know what to think anymore."  
  
"Has Aiyana seen this?"  
  
"That's what we're going to do now," Haruka said. "Coming along for the ride?"  
  
Mako shrugged. "Why not?"  
  
***  
  
The four of them felt instant remorse when they walked in on the tender moment without knocking. Masaya was sitting on the bed, across from Aiyana, but he was leaning so far off it that she might as well have been sitting in his lap. Aiyana was in the rocking chair, sleepily rocking her baby as she nursed her.  
  
"Oh, gomen," said Ami, jumping back. Mako's eyes almost popped from her head.  
  
"No way…Masaya and the – Aiyana?" She giggled a little. "They're so cute! They look like a big happy family."  
  
"Minako would slap you if she heard you," said Haruka. "Her voice was swimming in acid when she learned that Masaya had been caring for Aiyana."  
  
"Come in. Or should I say, come in further, and thanks for knocking," Aiyana said. But her voice wasn't bitter. She was smiling, a motherly glow around her. Masaya looked positively mesmerized.  
  
"Aunt Mako?" He was surprised at Mako's appearance, and stared at her.  
  
"Hai, it's me, and I know everything," she said softly. "So hold nothing back."  
  
"I decided on a name for her, Ami," Aiyana said excitedly. "Masaya helped me pick it. I wanted a name that meant hope, a Japanese name. Because she's my little hope, my only desire for living." She smiled. "Masaya said Mikomi meant that. A hope, expectation, or prospect. How does that sound?"  
  
"It's a beautiful name," said Michiru, her eyes watering. Haruka took one look at her and smiled a little.  
  
"Aiyana," Ami said softly, kneeling by the rocking chair Aiyana sat in, "I have some important news for you."  
  
"What's that?" Aiyana asked, arranging the receiving blanket more modestly around her. It seemed Masaya had done a little hunting for somethings that she would need. There were two more receiving blankets on the bed, and she had a mobile over the bassinet.  
  
"We ran the paternity test last night in the lab," she said. "Against you and King Endymion. The test came out positive."  
  
Aiyana stopped rocking and looked at Ami, straight in her wide blue eyes. "I…I'm King Endymion's daughter?"  
  
"By the paternity test and the archived records, that's the way it looks," said Michiru. "The ginzuishou made you age very slowly, which we figured was the same power that stuck Princess Lady Selenity at five years old for so long. So that's why you appear to be only seventeen, but in actuality, you're over nine hundred years old."  
  
Aiyana and Masaya looked at each other and exchanged an embarrassed glance. "I'm only four hundred and twelve," he said sheepishly.  
  
"Well, the Cold Sleep subtracted a lot of time from you," said Haruka. "You must have been conceived sometime before the actual sleep. You went to sleep for all those years and grew older, but did not age. Then you were released from the sleep and went to live with your mother…in Ireland. After a few years, Selenity realized that her daughter was not aging, so she reversed the effects of the ginzuishou. When she did so, it had the same effect on you, releasing you from the spell and causing you to age again, albeit very slowly."  
  
"However, you'd already pretty much gained on Masaya, our young buck here," said Mako, grinning.  
  
Aiyana looked around at the five other people in the room, but her gaze rested on Masaya. She leaned back in the rocking chair. Mikomi was beginning to sense her mother's distress and she was starting to fuss. "So…what do I do now?"  
  
"Somehow, the other Senshi found about about you and the situation."  
  
"Not somehow," Mako said. "Izumi-chan told all the girls. Megami-chan blurted it out, which is how my husband and I found out. Emi-chan evidently kept it to herself, but Hitomi-chan feared for Chibi-usa-chan and told her mother, after reaping more details from Izumi-chan."  
  
"Izumi-san doesn't like me very much," Aiyana said quietly. "That's why she told everyone. She has a crush on Masaya."  
  
"I see," said Michiru.  
  
"So they're bringing the case in front of the king and queen, asking what they should do with you – imprison you, deport you, execute you, or leave you alone. Of course, Mercury and I are on your side. But Mars and Venus are pretty staunch against you, and they've been holding up the argument."  
  
"Venus' husband, I think, is kind of on our side, but he refuses to take part. Mars' husband is exactly the opposite, but he also is not taking part too heavily. Mercury's husband is on our side, and Jupiter's husband is remaining neutral in this argument." Haruka smiled. "It seems like the women are duking this one out by themselves."  
  
"So what do you want me to do?"  
  
"I asked King Endymion and Queen Selenity for three days' time to think it over. In the mean time, we want to think up some way for Endymion to find out exactly who you are." Haruka turned to Michiru. "You can sense feelings. Do you think he knows?"  
  
"I…couldn't tell." She smiled ruefully. "The king has great practice in dealing with and covering up his feelings. His vibes are hard for even me to sense. And Rei-san is not on our side. Her abilities are a little stronger than mine."  
  
"I don't want Aiyana going directly to Endymion herself," said Mako. "There's got to be some reason that he hid her from everyone all these years – something he's either ashamed of, or afraid of. So it may be dangerous. Desperate people take desperate measures sometimes."  
  
"However, there's got to be *some* way that Endymion can find out what's going on and what we know before the deadline ends," said Michiru. "That's important. Maybe he'll reconsider locking Aiyana up."  
  
"Selenity will be easy to convince," Ami said. "I'm pretty sure she feels sympathy for Aiyana and does not want to kill her. But even if she doesn't, if we could just manipulate Endymion, we won't have to worry about her. Endymion could convince her our way."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"So what do you want me to do?" Aiyana repeated.  
  
"Be happy and be a good mother to your baby," Ami said softly. "Everything's all figured out now. We know who your parents are, where you were born, and your vital statistics. We'll probably do some fingerprint and toeprint comparions just to make sure, but I believe that we're all pretty sure that Endymion is your father."  
  
Aiyana nodded.  
  
"The worst is over," said Michiru.  
  
"Actually, Kaioh-san," Aiyana said, looking down at her baby, "I feel like the worst is yet to come."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
AN: julymoonbunny@hotmail.com 


	24. Glowing In Brilliant Gold

1 Chapter Twenty-Four – Glowing In Brilliant Gold  
  
***  
  
"One day, your highness. We should be landing on the planet Earth the evening after tomorrow."  
  
Prince Tamashiiro smiled, taking a sip of the wine he had been supplied. Earlier that day, he'd had a horrible headache for some odd reason. It had gone away, but the ship's doctor had given him a little sweet wine to help the pain in case it came back.  
  
"Very good." Prince Tamashiiro shook his wine glass a little, staring down at the red liquid sloshing around in it. The redness…he closed his eyes for a moment. Perfecly contrasting to blue-violet eyes, but the fire almost matched that rash red color.  
  
When they arrived on Earth, Aiyana Khalidah would be seven months pregnant, unless she had an abortion or had otherwise harmed herself or the child. She'd be weak and easy to capture. Then, he could explore the extent of that power inside of her – possibly even claim some of it as his own.  
  
If Aiyana had rose through the ranks that quickly with her powers, there was no telling what a little of it could do to a healthy, lusty young man like himself. What it could do for the military, the people of Centauri and Proximi. A super-race could be created – a super race that would crush everything else, take over the universe and everything in it with no problems and without the cumbersome elixirs and tonics that were being applied to the soldiers now.  
  
That reminded him. He looked past the Lambda doctor and towards the Acting Second Delta on board. The Acting First Delta was nowhere to be found; he was probably closer to the cockpit, grilling the Eta pilots about landing and traveling through the atmosphere. "Delta Reizei, has the transport with the Psi soldiers deployed from Centauri yet?"  
  
"Yes, your highness," Acting Second Delta Kenji Reizei replied. "The Psi, the other three Deltas, the Acting Seventh Delta and about ten Epsilons should be arriving about a day or two after us. They left a little late due to an engine failure that had to be fixed quickly."  
  
"That's okay." Tamashiiro smiled. Acting Third Delta Akihiro Shigenoi was also on board the ship. "I believe we have enough of the Psi on board to at least capture the palace and hold off any pathetic defense that the Earthians may put up until the reinforcements arrive. Are there any more complications to look foreward to?"  
  
Delta Shigenoi chuckled at Tamashiiro's optimism. "Yes, sir. It seems that the Earthians have set up a sort of fleet around their planet. They are staying within the planet's gravitational field. There are about five ships in their fleet. Not very impressive; they seem to have primitive tracking devices that only picked us up once we entered the orbit of Jupiter. Their sensors at home had us at the outer edges of the Milky Way, but the old ships need to be updated.  
  
"In any event, they are alert and rather ready to fight if they need to."  
  
Tamashiiro smiled complacently and took a sip of his wine. "Good. So are we."  
  
***  
  
"Aiyana, please. Remember. Accept yourself."  
  
Tomoe Hotaru rose from her kneeling position and strode to a high shelf in her spacious room. King Endymion had made sure that she was well-provided for, in terms of living quarters. The house that she inhabited – indeed, the house that Keiko had also resided in, until she had disappeared – was larger than the two of them really needed.  
  
But she filled the house with many knick-knacks – the pretty lamps she had collected over the years, little statuettes and figurines she had thought interesting, and, of course, tons of pictures of she and her daughter Keiko.  
  
Her hand reached out to finger the frame of one that was taken about five years ago. It was the first day of school for Keiko, and a momentous day – it marked her entrance into junior high. The two had taken it together in front of the entrance of Keiko's new school. The two of them were smiling brightly, but Hotaru remembered vividly the nervousness Keiko had on that day. She was a bright child, but she was afraid that the work would be hard and the people, harsh.  
  
Two weeks after her registration at the Irish junior high school, she'd disappeared.  
  
Hotaru winced with pain when she thought about that. For a long time in the beginning, she'd believed Keiko had simply run away. The beginning of her junior high career had been a lot like Hotaru's own. Although she wasn't possessed by any evil entities, Keiko was exotic-looking and different from the girls in her school – even though she spoke perfect English with the Irish lilt, having been raised in Ireland just like most of her schoolmates. However, Keiko was also exceptionally beautiful. Many of the girls she wished to be friends with were jealous and resented her, and the boys followed the girls' lead – as junior high school boys usually do.  
  
But while not overly depressed, Hotaru had sensed a certain unhappiness in Keiko even before that. In the present-day United Kingdom, it was rare for a family to not have a father and mother. Keiko had never shown any hate towards her mother, but she was resentful because her mother would not supply any information about the one thing she craved to know – her father.  
  
Hotaru couldn't bear lying to her daughter. She didn't tell her her father was dead; no, he hadn't walked out on the family when Keiko was born. All she told her daughter was that her father lived far, far away, on the other side of the world; he was a busy man but he still loved her very much. He sent her letters regularly, and gifts at all the holidays. But there were never any return addresses on it.  
  
When younger, Keiko begged her mother to help her write letters to her father to send, but as she grew older she refused to send him anything back. She was angry and bitter at her father's absence in her life and her parents' lack of answers when she asked questions about it.  
  
Hotaru had never wanted to believe that Keiko had run away. And with the discovery that she came to Crystal Tokyo somehow – it infused hope in her. She had never resented Endymion for not telling Keiko the truth in his letters, or even coming out to see her after the baby was born – the concealment of the child was very important to his happiness and future in Crystal Tokyo, as well as the fate of the world. The world wasn't ready to have a Saturnian descendent on the throne. However, she hated to see her daughter so angry and bitter.  
  
But Keiko couldn't bring her mother's guidance into her life now – as the seventeen-year-old unwed mother she'd become in Crystal Tokyo – unless she accepted her past, her future, her destiny, and regained at least part of her memories. And at this point, that seemed almost beyond hope.  
  
Unless a miracle happened.  
  
***  
  
Aiyana stared into the white baby bassinet. She had dark bags underneath her eyes, but a smile lined her thin lips.  
  
This morning, Masaya had taken Aiyana outside for a fresh walk in the summer air, along with Mikomi. Aiyana had found that she was very weak, even weaker than when she had first arrived. Her legs were wobbly and she could barely stand. Masaya told her that maternity patients usually were brought around in wheelchairs anyway, for the sake of safety.  
  
So she'd bundled Mikomi in plenty of warm blankets to protect her from the light breeze, and held her tightly as Masaya wheeled her around outside. They'd all had lunch outside as well, tuna sandwiches, a food delight Masaya had somehow borrowed from Ami. Except for Mikomi, who'd had a lunch and two snacks. Ever since discovering the possibility of getting her own food whenever she wanted it, instead of waiting for her mother to eat, and the warmth and closeness to her mother that she could derive from feeding, she was demanding to be fed every two hours.  
  
Which was precisely why Aiyana had bags under her eyes now. She'd gotten about twenty minutes of sleep that night, what with Mikomi screaming to wake her for food. After the first two, she'd gotten accustomed to lying in wait for her next bout of wails.  
  
Sure enough, Mikomi's cries went off like a siren. Aiyana sprang up quickly, unbuttoned her nightgown and had the baby's lips to it in a minute. She started sucking merrily away, quieted at last.  
  
"I wonder if I could just hold her here all night, or if she would drown in her own food," Aiyana said cynically. She knew that wouldn't help. As soon as Mikomi was finished with her meal, she would scream until she was laid in the bassinet again, tucked away to sleep. Masaya had laughed – he'd been there late that night, there for the first feeding.  
  
"She's the first baby I know that cries to be put back in her bassinet," he commented.  
  
Mikomi started fussing again – she was finished early this time – and Aiyana genty burped the baby and laid her back in the bassinet. The legs were a little shaky, and the nurse who attended her had promised to get her a new one in the morning. Aiyana carefully arranged the lavender blankets around the little girl and smiled. Although she was awake at three am, feeding a squalling child, she felt immeasurably happy in the oddest way.  
  
*Finally,* she thought, *there is someone who really needs me.*  
  
Aiyana kissed her daughter's chubby little baby cheek and slipped back underneath the covers of her own bed, warm herself, knowing that as soon as she drifted off to sleep Mikomi would begin crying again.  
  
She was drifting off, fading into that hazy world between sleep and consciousness, when she heard a crash. It was faint to her ears, but she heard shrieking. As she started to come to, she realized that the shrieking was not in words, but merely a sound – and it was getting louder as she regained consciousness.  
  
It was in the hospital.  
  
It was in her room.  
  
It was a few feet away.  
  
It was Mikomi.  
  
Aiyana flung off her sheet covers. Mikomi's shrieks this time were different than they ever were before. She whipped around and let out a scream herself.  
  
The rickety bassinet had given way and had collapsed on top of her daughter.  
  
Aiyana screamed again and flung herself out of the bed. She picked the pieces of the canopy from the pile of rubble and flung across the room, into walls, windows, the bed, everywhere. She didn't care. Quickly, Mikomi was unearthed from the pile, still shrieking in pain. Was she bleeding? Was her soft baby head misshapen? Oh god, had the bassinet fallen on her soft spot? Aiyana cursed fiercely and pressed the baby into her arms, sobbing uncontrollably.  
  
"Oh no, please kami…if you have any mercy in you! Don't let Mikomi-chan be hurt…please! Please please please don't let my baby be hurt…oh kami…"  
  
Dark against the pale, smooth skin of her forehad, a dark sign arose. It flickered dark at first, but the light quickly filtered into a color easily distinguishable as violet. The soft violet light filled the room – and then a stronger beam of brilliant gold burst through the sign that illuminated the room.  
  
Aiyana could hardly notice. She was immersed in her own worries, her sobbings, over the child she cradled in her hands, now silent.  
  
*Oh please, guardian god Saturn, please let her be all right!*  
  
***  
  
Hotaru reached out to turn off the lamp, but instead she lurched forwards and tumbled to the floor. Thankfully, the lush carpet caught her fall, and she wasn't hurt.  
  
She lifted her hand and looked at it. It was glowing bright purple.  
  
Hand shaking, she rose to her knees, clutching the bedspread on her bed. It was only a matter of time, she knew…  
  
Aiyana was calling her back.  
  
***  
  
Endymion shot up in bed. He could feel his power surging through him for some reason…it was an odd feeling, his own powers going through his body and him not controlling them himself. It was a sensation he had not felt in almost a thousand years.  
  
His eyes widened. It could not possibly mean he had lost control of his powers suddenly. So it could only mean one other thing.  
  
His wife rolled over on her side of the bed, and Endymion quickly hid his hands behind his back. As soon as he confirmed she was still sleep, he brought them both back to his face. They were glowing in brilliant gold.  
  
He sighed heavily and brought his hands to his forehead.  
  
Aiyana's powers were waking up. Which meant that there was a very grave chance…she would remember.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
AN: By now, you're probably confused about the levels and stuffers. Well, I'll explain a little.  
  
Andromedan/Alpha life is based on caste system and level rating. The levels are based on the Greek alphabet. The levels are split into three categories: the Aristocracy, the Military, and the Civilians.  
  
The first category, the Aristocracy, is made of the level named by the last Greek letter, Omega, and the first three letters of the alphabet, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. The Omegas are the ruling body, and what they say is always final (hence the play on the last letter of the alphabet. They consist of the royal family only. The Alphas are like the Supreme Court, very intimidating, and there are only six of them on the council. The Betas are like legislators, and there are more of them. The Gammas are general aristocrts.  
  
The next levels are in the Military and they are the Greek letters Delta through Kappa. Some of the sections have specializations; others don't. The Deltas are the spys and experts at espionage; it is the highest honor a military peron can have. The Epsilon are like a Secret Police of sorts. The Zeta are the next level down and they are military scientists. The Eta are the pilots (starcraft); the Theta are the sailors (watercraft). The Iota use lower level military weapons like tanks and stuff; and the Kappa are the foot soldiers.  
  
Then, Lambda through Tau are the Civilians. Lambda are high level scholars like doctors and lawyers that work in government run business. Mu are lower level-scholars that work in government business like teachers and stuff. Nu have their own businesses but struggle because free enterprise is discouraged. Xi are people who service and work at Nu level businesses. The majority of Civlians are Xi members. Omicron, Pi, and Rho are welfare receivers; the Omicrons receive the least welfare and the Rho practically live on it. Sigmas and Taus are prisoners, Sigma in minimum security prisons and Taus in maximum.  
  
The Psi actually skip a few letters (Upsilon, Phi, and Chi). I can't tell you too much about the Psi, because that would ruin the story. (Plus I need to make up some stuff ^_^) Just know that they are genetically enhanced soldiers. 


	25. Her Mother's Embrace

1 Chapter Twenty-Five – Her Mother's Embrace  
  
***  
  
"Aiyana."  
  
Aiyana turned around, waterfalls of tears still cascading down her cheeks. But she stopped audibly crying and gasped in shock as she saw the woman standing behind her.  
  
It was like staring at an age-progression of herself. The woman was older than her, much older, but she looked exactly like Aiyana. Her violet hair was cut short, but it had the same glossy sheen as Aiyana's own. Her skin, body structure, facial features – all were eerily reminiscent of Aiyana's own. The only difference was that while Aiyana's eyes were a luminous blue, this woman's eyes were a deep violet.  
  
The violet eyes filled with tears as she gazed upon Aiyana, clutching her baby to her chest. "My daughter. I'm missed you so much."  
  
Aiyana stood up and stepped back from the figure before her. "Your…daughter?"  
  
"You, Aiyana."  
  
Aiyana's eyes were the size of saucers. "Mother?"  
  
"Mother."  
  
She fell silent, staring at the violet-haired woman before her for a few moments. "You're not really here."  
  
"No." She had a wavery, holographic appearance to her. Her body was nearly translucent, and she glowed with a soft purple light. But she was smiling serenely, and she looked almost as tangible as Aiyana herself.  
  
"What…are you here for?" Suddenly, Aiyana grew angry. She'd fantasized for years about meeting her mother, about the emotions that would flow, but she never imagined that one of them would be anger. "Why do you decide to show up now after being gone for seventeen years?"  
  
"Aiyana…Keiko…" The woman – Hotaru – her eyes filled with tears again. "I never left you, not for seventeen years or seventeen seconds. Why did you leave *me*, my darling?"  
  
"I never left you!" Aiyana yelled. "I don't even *remember* you!"  
  
"Of course you don't." The tears were spilling over her cheeks, and she had a sad smile on her face. "You don't remember…the day at school…"  
  
"A day at school." Aiyana stood straighter, holding Mikomi tightly. Somehow, the baby had completely stopped crying, but Aiyana could feel her baby heart beating normally inside its chamber. She was alive and hopefully all right. She didn't know how, but Aiyana thought she would kind of be able to sense if her baby were having problems.  
  
"You remember."  
  
"No, I don't. But I get hazy visions." She shook her head. "I only started…when they mentioned the name. Of the baby. Keiko Tomoe."  
  
"Keiko Tomoe is not a baby. Keiko Tomoe is a seventeen-year-old mother."  
  
Aiyana stared down at Mikomi in her arms, who had fallen back to sleep. "Are you sure that I'm her?"  
  
"I'm positive. You resemble me so much, and I memorized every last feature of my precious daughter. Besides, you have his eyes."  
  
"His eyes." Aiyana stared the woman who said she was her mother in the eye. "King Endymion's eyes."  
  
"Yes. King Endymion's eyes."  
  
Aiyana stared back down at Mikomi.  
  
"It's not what you think," Hotaru said desperately, reaching out for her daughter. She was losing her, and Hotaru felt the most powerful urge to communicate with her, right now, while she still had time to watch her…while there was even a shred of innocence within her…while Hotaru herself still lived. "The king and I…we didn't…he wasn't unfaithful to his wife."  
  
"What, they weren't married yet?"  
  
"Don't be like this. What do you care? You fell to quite the same plight as I did, my dear."  
  
Aiyana snapped her head back up to Hotaru. "This was not by my will!" she said forcefully.  
  
"I know that. And it was not by my will, either."  
  
Aiyana stared at Hotaru. "You were raped, too?"  
  
"Not in that sense."  
  
"You're confusing me."  
  
"You're going to have to get your father to explain it." Hotaru raised an eyebrow at Aiyana, silencing the fit of outrage she was about to throw. "I can't…I don't have time to discuss that right now. My time is short now, and I must tell you about much, much more important things."  
  
Aiyana took a deep breath and sat down in the bed. She cradled Mikomi in her arms so she was laying horizontally instead of Aiyana having to support her vertically. She then looked up at Hotaru. She disliked sitting beneath her and having to look up, but her arms were getting tired. "What could be more important than that?"  
  
"What do you remember about that day at school?"  
  
Aiyana bent her head back down.  
  
"You were twelve years old. It was a new school for you, a middle school. Two weeks you had been there. You went to school one day…" Hotaru was crying silently again. "And you disappeared."  
  
"They took me away."  
  
Hotaru looked up, quickly, focused her eyes on the bowed head that was Aiyana. She bent down, took Aiyana's chin on her finger, and lifted her head so her eyes were looking into her daughter's. "Who took you away, Aiyana?"  
  
"I don't remember. It's all so hazy. I only started remembering after I threw up. And it's taking a long time to get out of my bloodstream, whatever they used to erase my memory. All I remember…is dark figures. Taking me somewhere. It could have been a teacher taking me to the bathroom or something as simple as that." Her face remained expressionless. "But I was afraid. I know that."  
  
She bowed her head back down to Mikomi. "I'm still afraid," she whispered.  
  
Hotaru took her place next to Aiyana on the bed and took the teenager into her arms, who had begun crying. "I don't know what's going to happen to me, Mother. My life is still in the balances. My future and Mikomi-chan's future are both unsure. I don't care what happens to me at this point. But I want Mikomi to live here, on Earth." Aiyana looked up at Hotaru's face, a little startled at their sudden proximity. Earlier, they had been cold to each other. Now she was comforting her as any mother would do to her distressed daughter.  
  
"Maybe I should hide away, like you."  
  
"No." Hotaru took Aiyana's shoulders. "Me hiding, us keeping this a secret – me and your father – it was bad. It caused too much trouble, trouble for all three of us. He felt so guilty, and his guilt was tearing at his soul for years. He wanted to meet you, see you. He always loved you, Aiyana; don't think that he walked away from you or didn't want you. He always wanted you, and he wanted to watch you grow up, as any parent would do to their child. It hurt him when you stopped writing him letters out of spite. He loved you very much.  
  
"Me, I was a little resentful. I didn't want Endymion to tell anyone – no, I didn't want the timeline to be disrupted…but I felt so helpless. I loved you with all my heart, but you wanted to know your father. And when I wouldn't tell you more about him, you became angry with me. You didn't understand, you see.  
  
"But for you, Aiyana – Keiko…it was hardest on you of all. You felt torn and incomplete. Everyone else had both their parents, and without the male role model that you needed and the constant secrecy…you kind of grew up wrong.  
  
"But you turned into a rational, intelligent, beautiful young lady," Hotaru said, smiling again at her daughter. "One that I can be proud of."  
  
"Mother," Aiyana said. She didn't feel comfortable calling Hotaru her mother quite yet, but she couldn't think of anything else to call her. After all, she *was* her mother. "If you and King Endymion didn't…do…what everyone would think you did to have children – me – then why did you keep it a secret?"  
  
"Your father will have to answer that one for you," Hotaru repeated. She smiled a little but her answer was firm, and Aiyana could easily see that.  
  
"There is something else." Hotaru brought Aiyana's face back to face her again. "I know that during your stay here, you have heard of the Sailor Senshi."  
  
"Not just during my stay," Aiyana said. "They're all over the universe, fighting for different causes. Most of the ones we heard of were pretty weak, and Andromeda didn't have any. That's where they took me to – Andromeda, the galaxy."  
  
"They have some," Hotaru said reassuringly. "Every planet has one, just some are undiscovered…Aiyana, the Sailor Senshi of this solar system are the most powerful Senshi there are. They have the starseeds of hope, and they fight for only good causes, love and justice. There are ten that presently reside on this earth, not counting Sailormoon, whose fight has ended for now.  
  
"Four of them I am sure you have already met. I know you have already met them, and as a matter of fact, I know that they are playing a big part in your life. Sailormercury, Sailormars, Sailorjupiter, and Sailorvenus are protectors of the queen. They safeguard the palace and protect the welfare of the city. They also have families.  
  
"Sailoruranus and Sailorneptune. My partners and surrogate parents. They raised me and protected me throughout my life – they were like a mother and father to me, and they loved me like their own child. I am forever indebted to them for that, and I will never forget their kindness and love for me."  
  
"No wonder they were so intent on finding you," Aiyana said.  
  
"Yes. I always knew they were looking, and that they would look. But they didn't have the resources to find me. I never filed a relocation record because I never relocated – Crystal Tokyo and the Earth were restored and I immediately went to Ireland. And I never filed a residency report. There were no records of me being there, except for your birth record."  
  
"There are two more soldiers. Sailorpluto is the eternal time guardian. She watches over the flow of time, making sure that the normal flow of time is never interrupted or manhandled.  
  
And finally, there is I. Sailorsaturn. The Senshi of Death and Rebirth." Hotaru sighed. "That is a duty I shall now pass to you."  
  
Aiyana widened her eyes. "I can't – I can't be a Sailor Senshi!" she said. "I have Mikomi-chan to care for. And the other Senshi hate me! Well, at least Mars and Venus do. They hate me and they'll never agree to fight with me. And I don't have any experience in using magic!" Aiyana shook her head furiously. "I could never be a Sailor Senshi. I don't fit in here!"  
  
"But my dear, you already have the starseed of Saturn," she said. "Earlier when you thought your dear daughter was hurt, you called on the powers of the guardian god Saturn to protect her and make sure she was all right. You did it subconsciously, but the power is there. And you are my daughter, an excellent warrior and an intelligent woman. There is nothing that can stop you."  
  
Aiyana was still shaking her head. Her face had gone stark white at the suggestion of her fighting – now, with the very people who hated her so much and wanted her dead. "This is unreal," she said. "This is all happening too fast!"  
  
"Aiyana," Hotaru said soothingly, "you won't fight with the Sailor Senshi you know of."  
  
"You just said I would have to fight alongside the Senshi. Because I am one. Or the daughter of one."  
  
"You'll fight alongside Senshi, yes, the Senshi who carry the starseeds and represent the power of this system. However, the Senshi are old, and they will also have to pass their powers along, just as I do."  
  
"How will they know?"  
  
"You'll have to tell them."  
  
"They will never believe me."  
  
"They will have to believe you," Hotaru said. "Because you are the beginning of a revolution.  
  
"You see, because I am the soldier of rebirth, I begin the rebirthing process of the Senshi. Once my power is transferred to you, the already- existing Senshi will find themselves unable to transform. You will explain to them why, and they will have to believe you. If the Senshi already- existing fight, they will lose – they are not strong enough to fight the new enemy. They need fresh, new bodies to house their starseeds and to fight this battle – to learn how to fight the upcoming battles."  
  
"But that's not the way this is supposed to be," Aiyana said. "Ami said that the Sailor Senshi will remain forever, that they were made immortal with the power of the ginzuishou – that they will live on together."  
  
"That's the way that we thought it was, Aiyana," Hotaru said, her face softening as she stared at her daughter. "We also thought that the timeline was immutable, that nothing we did could alter the future. However, the Senshi found that changed with Serenity's unwillingness to let them live lives of single women and with the creation of yourself. Originally, the Sailor Senshi were to remain forever the warriors of Crystal Tokyo, the protectors, and in that essence, they would live forever, body and spirit.  
  
"However, with the birth of their daughters, there was now the ability to pass on the starseed and the spirit of their planets and powers. So they don't have to live forever – they have progeny. So while their starseed will live forever—"  
  
"—their bodies will pass away." Aiyana nodded. "Immortality was a misinterpretation."  
  
Hotaru nodded.  
  
"So will they…die…as soon as they pass the power on?" Aiyana asked, looking back at her mother. Her voice was shaky. "Will you die?"  
  
"They are stronger than I. They won't die as soon as they pass it on, but something powerful will be taken from them, and they won't feel the same." Hotaru smiled sadly at her daughter. "As for myself…I have always been physically weak. So when I do pass this power on…the rebound of it will be so strong that it will kill me."  
  
"No!" Aiyana said, wrapping her arms around her mother's waist. "I was only beginning to get to know you…and you'll be gone."  
  
"It's for the good of the universe," said Hotaru, looking down at her daughter in adoration. "I'm merely passing my spirit to you. In essence, I'll be alive inside you."  
  
Aiyana looked up at her mother. There was something wonderful about the twinkle of reassurance in a mother's eye, the feeling that she can right the whole world just by whispering sweet words to one and rocking one to sleep. Aiyana laid her head against her mother's bosom, defeated.  
  
"Listen to me, sweetheart. There is a room in the palace I stayed in for a little while before I moved on to Ireland – not long enough to get any citizenship papers, but long enough to stabilize before being moved across the globe. In that room I have hidden a small box with a pen-like object in it. That object is your henshin wand. You will use it to turn into Neo- Sailorsaturn when the time comes around. When you hold it in your hands, you will know what to do.  
  
"As soon as you use the henshin wand, the other Senshi will lose the ability to transform, so make sure that you use it at a wise time. And—" Hotaru smiled. "While you are in the palace, you might seek a few answers from your father."  
  
Aiyana nodded.  
  
"I would like for you to give these to Haruka and Michiru for me." There was a waver in Hotaru's voice this time, and she choked back tears as she handed Aiyana two plain, nondescript envelopes, each marked with the name of one of her surrogate parents. "Sailorpluto needs no letter – she knows, she sees, everything. But Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama…" Hotaru smiled. "I cannot see them again. The only reason I can see you is to impart this message to you – the soldier of Saturn is always summoned by a desperate show of power, and only to discuss the future of the soldier-ship."  
  
Aiyana nodded. She understood. Tenoh-san and Kaioh-san would be devastated when they found out that Hotaru had passed without them seeing her one last. But the one last time would make the parting all the more devastating and sad, for all three of them.  
  
Hotaru's face sort of melted into another expression, one approaching both that of anguish and determination, all aimed at Aiyana. "I love you, Keiko- chan," she said, the tears spilling over her cheeks as she drew Aiyana closer to her. "Remember that."  
  
Aiyana reveled in the warmth of her mother's embrace. *Her mother's.* The words felt wonderful on her tongue, the thoughts wonderful in her mind.  
  
"I love you too, Mama."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
AN: 


	26. A Completely Smooth Landing

Chapter Twenty-Six - A Completely Smooth Landing  
  
***  
  
"Aiyana, are you crazy? It's four o'clock in the morning, what - what *are* you doing?"  
  
Aiyana stared at Masaya. "You're a doctor," she said. "You should be used to doing calls early in the morning."  
  
Aiyana had notified the hospital staff that Masaya needed to get to the hospital immediately for an emergency. They were to use any means possible to get him here - or else. Picking up on the young man's feelings for the new mother, the nurse had told Masaya simply that Aiyana had a critical problem, and the young doctor had come running.  
  
When he arrived and found that Aiyana was alive and well, and that Mikomi was as well, he was more than a little miffed.  
  
"Yeah, but-" Masaya yawned. "If I don't have to do any calls, I like to sleep."  
  
"I've got a problem," said Aiyana. "Maybe not critical to my life, but it is pretty critical. I need for you to take Mikomi-chan and these letters to Ami's house." Aiyana sensed Masaya about to protest, so she continued on quickly. "I have something to do and I don't have time to go to Ami's house, nor the means. As it is, I have to get to the palace on foot, and it'll take me a while to get there."  
  
"The palace? Aiyana, are you crazy? The decision hasn't yet been rendered by the king and queen, and they may-"  
  
"Let me repeat: I *have* to get to the palace on foot,and it'll take me a little while to get there." Aiyana held Mikomi out towards Masaya, her eyes pleading. "Please, Masaya. You promised me that you would help me in any way you could."  
  
Masaya sighed. He had promised her that, and he intended to keep that promise. "But." He gently took Mikomi from Aiyana's outstretched hands. The little girl shifted and sighed a little, getting comfortable in her new caretaker's arms. "Could you *please* tell me what you plan on doing?"  
  
Aiyana smiled mysteriously and kissed Masaya on his cheek. "Thank you," she said. "I should be back in a little while; I don't want to be away from Mikomi-chan too long. I love my girl," she said, now directing her attention to her daughter. "I don't want to be away from my girl."  
  
Masaya sighed heavily. "Okay, if you want to be mysterious, go ahead," he said. "I don't care. I don't even think I want to know."  
  
Aiyana looked back up at Masaya. "I have a few things to take care of for the legacy of my mother. Don't ask," she added, when she saw the incredulous look on Masaya's face. "I just know, okay?"  
  
Masaya nodded and cradled Mikomi closer to him.  
  
"If Kaioh-san and Tenoh-san come looking for me - they'll probably go to Ami - tell Ami to give them these letters." She pointed to the letters she handed Masaya. "I didn't write them. Hotaru did."  
  
Masaya's eyes widened.  
  
"One more thing...Masaya, what did they do with my sword?"  
  
***  
  
The pilot on deck was half-asleep until the sensors started beeping madly.  
  
Jadeite slapped the pilot in the back of the head as he rushed up to the control deck of the ship. The pilot shook his head and groggily opened his eyes. "Jadeite-dono, what was that for?"  
  
"For this, numbskull!" Jadeite pointed to the screen. "These guys are almost on top of you, and they're about to attempt to land on earth!"  
  
"What if they come in peace?" said the co-pilot, half-jokingly.  
  
"Yeah, well, we don't have time to figure out whether they are or they aren't. They'll get to Earth hours before we do - they're going much faster than us." Jadeite lifted the communication device from the main panel of the ship and punched up Mars', Venus', and Kunzite's ships all at once. "Do guys see that?"  
  
"Do we ever!" said Sailorvenus, her voice a little scratchy. "They'll land on Earth in a few minutes if we don't stop them, and it'll take us hours to chase them!"  
  
"Kunzite, your ship has the fastest gunnery. Can you get them?"  
  
"I've got my gunnery-OIC guy on them right now." Silence ensued as Kunzite did the necessary things on his ship, and a moment later a red missile was speeding towards the large ship attempting to enter Earth's atmosphere.  
  
Before Jadeite could even blink, the missile had vaporized. The larger ship's gunnery hatch - or, what could be assumed to be the larger ship's gunnery hatch - was smoking a little bit.  
  
"Please don't attempt that again," a wavery voice came over the ship's communications system. Jadeite looked up, wondering how the ship had communicated with them since they weren't wired into the Crystal Fleet's communications system. "As you can see, we are bigger, faster, and more powerful than your tiny ships. Try it again and you might get hurt."  
  
"What the hell...are you guys hearing that?" Mars asked.  
  
"Yeah, we hear it," Jadeite called back in.  
  
"I hear it too." Venus' voice crackled over the system.  
  
"Got it." The last one to come in was Kunzite, and his voice sounded uncertain - a new tone for the confident oldest general.  
  
"I'm aiming on the guy again," said Mars. "I'm going to see if I can hit his left rotor. He's going to take so long to turn around he won't see it coming."  
  
"No, Rei!" Jadeite yelled. Mars had good aim, and he knew she was going to take the shot herself, not letting any of her gunnery engineers do it.  
  
It was too late. Mars had already punched up the responder and had sent the missile flying. It sliced through space towards the larger alien vehicle.  
  
The missile was almost to the rotor of the larger ship - if it hit, it would make the ship unstable and it would fly in circles. Jadeite could hear the excitement building in Mars's voice. "Yes! It's going to hit!"  
  
Suddenly the larger starship shook with the force of exuding two more missiles. The first vaporized the missile Sailormars had thrown towards the ship. The second sped in the direction of Mars' ship.  
  
It was huge and very fast, and Jadeite knew there was no chance that he could even try to hit it with one of their ship's slower moving missiles. He could only watch it with a feeling of sinking horror as it closed in on Mars' ship.  
  
"Oh, hell." Kunzite's voice came over the communicator.  
  
"Jesus Christ!" The exclamation must have come from Mars' earlier years in a Catholic school. It was the last thing Jadeite heard from her. The missle struck her ship head-on with a force that caused a shock wave to rip through the space enclosing the small fleet's radius. Kunzite's ship was very close to Mars' and the side of the missle smashed into the side of the ship. Jadeite's and Sailorvenus' ships were rocked by the shockwave, but other than that, they were unhurt.  
  
"Sadayoshi!" Venus yelled.  
  
"REI!" Jadeite screamed.  
  
***  
  
"Stupid humans!" Prince Tamashiiro yelled scornfully, looking through the viewfinder. The Alpha ship had left the four Earthian ships far behind - they were entering the atmosphere of the planet Earth and should be landing on the ground in less than twenty minutes. "Why did they have to go and shoot again? We *told* them not to shoot!"  
  
"Calm down, Prince Tamashiiro-sama," said Acting Third Delta Shigenoi, staring at the prince warily. "What do you care? The ships were stopped, weren't they?"  
  
"Striking another when the intent is different is never good, Delta Shigenoi," said Acting First Delta Hojo. "The prince didn't want to hit the humans. Fools."  
  
"Besides," Acting Second Delta Reizei added, "we don't want to do too much damage to alert the Earthians too much. They might get a little feisty and want to fight against us."  
  
"Which won't be a problem - once the other envoy with the Psi soldiers arrives," said Tamashiiro. "However, the Psi and the others aren't here yet. So we have to wait before we can do whatever we want. For the time being, we have to be diplomatic with the Earthians."  
  
***  
  
"Damn! That missile hit Rei's ship!" yelled Sailorjupiter, banging a hand on the console.  
  
"Don't break the computers, Mako-chan!" said Sailormercury, lunging forwards to put her own hand in the path of Jupiter's. "They're our only link with the ships!"  
  
"Her hand banging the console won't do anything to the computers," Zoisite said.  
  
"Charged with some of that Jupiter ki, it will," Nephrite warned. "Back to business."  
  
"Business?! Sailormars' and Kunzite's ships just got hit head-on with a missile the size of the American state of Rhode Island!" Sailorjupiter said, pointing to the screen. "What's more, it's about to land. It's going through the atmosphere and looking for clear area to land right about now."  
  
"Don't exaggerate, Jupiter, and there's nowhere that will take a ship that big with enough space to lay everything else."  
  
"Wait...we lost it."  
  
"They might have added a cloaking device to their ship," Nephrite said. "They don't want us to see where they're landing at."  
  
***  
  
"We have to find somewhere to land, that's what we need to do," said one of the Eta pilots, looking through the mapping device he had of the small planet Earth. "Any specifications?"  
  
"Something not in Japan, but not too far away," said Tamashiiro. "Closer than seventy-five thousand kilometers, let's say. We can cover that distance easily in our smallar landships."  
  
"Hmmm." The pilot searched. "Found a place. The distance, as the crow flies, from Crystal Tokyo to this little place is six thousand six hundred twelve kilometers. Fair enough?"  
  
"Very fair," said Tamashiiro. "It should take us a little more than a half hour to cross that with the other craft we brought.  
  
"Good news, sire," said the Zeta communications officer. "The ship with the Psi reinforcements found a space jump and are closer than anticipated. They should be arriving on the planet in the time span of three Earth hours. They want to know where to land."  
  
"Tell them." The Eta co-pilot squinted at the screen. "Alice Springs, Australia. Or a few kilometers outside it, so as not to alert any of the residents. The desert area of Australia seems...well, deserted. Also, tell them to cloak themselves.we don't want to Earthians to know where we have landed so as to anticipate our arrival in the city."  
  
"Going in for a landing, your highness," the Eta pilot said. "Landing in ten minutes."  
  
"Everything suddenly started going a lot faster," said Tamashiiro. He smiled towards the chambers of the starship, knowing that the messengers were going in and out of his father's room to inform him of their progress. He wondered if Emperor Omega was happy or not.  
  
"Landing in eight minutes, your highness," the Eta pilot told him. "Everything gone normal, a completely smooth landing."  
  
"That's good to know," said Tamashiiro. "Keep at it, and tell me when we're on the ground."  
  
***  
  
Aiyana looked up at the spires of the immense Crystal Palace, situated in the middle of the city. It created a utopian look to the city, a serene pillar of peace and security that lay within a tiny little bubble in the Far East of Earth.  
  
Aiyana knew for a fact that the rest of the world didn't experience the supposedly unprecedented peace that Crystal Tokoy experienced. Her memories of the past were still hazy, but with the purging of the elixir and the meeting with her mother, they were flying back to her at lightning speed. The emotions had hit before the actual memories did, and the emotion of bitterness at the irony of the situation had hit her rather than the knowledge of something different in her home in Ireland. But just the same, she deduced that must have come from a stark constrast between the serenity of these crystal walls and the conditions in her home country.  
  
Home country...with a start, Aiyana realized that she was both an Irish citizen and a Japanese citizen. If the laws were anything like what she'd studied, the birthplace clause dictated she was an Irish citizen, having been born in that strange country halfway across the world. However, the jus sanguenious clause stated that she was also a Japanese citizen by blood - because both of her parents had been Japanese citizens. Therefore, she had certain rights that she could use should it come down to a trial - such as, they could not banish her without a due trial. That meant that her father couldn't banish her without telling everyone the truth about why, if Ami and her side contested it, which she was pretty sure they would.  
  
A smile on her lips at that realization, she came to a stop on the side of the huge crystalline palace and stared up. However would she get inside? How had she gotten in that first night? The Second Delta had been sent to accompany her on her mission and help her inside, as well as instruct her on the missionry of the small craft that he had left for her to get back to Centauri after she had finished her mission. He had also aided her entry up until a certain point, then warned her that she was on her own after that. Where was it? A small entrance they had welded in the wing of the royal bedrooms, but still a distance from the bedrooms.  
  
Circling the great palace would take forever, and looking for the small entrance she and the Second Delta had made would take even longer. It was only big enough for her to get in and had been partially sealed after making it, so that she could kick it back open if needed, but only with a great amount of force - a strength she didn't have anymore, after giving birth to Mikomi and vomiting up the elixir on top of that. It was dangerous for her to make it even this far - she wasn't as strong as she used to be, and couldn't fight as effectively as she did. If those two generals she had fought - and given difficulty - found her now, they would be able to take her easily.  
  
*Thinking these defeatist thoughts isn't going to get me very far,* Aiyana thought to herself. *I'm the spirit of the god Saturn, and I have strength within myself. Besides, if I can summon memories from seventeen years ago, then I can summon my skills and powers from merely a few months ago, right?* She nodded to herself, then took a place on the ground, touching her hand against the cold crystal walls of the palace and placing another hand on the ground next to her, thinking it odd that none of the guards or Senshi usually patrolling the place had found her yet.  
  
Suddenly she felt a little electric charge in the hand that was on the ground. When she lifted it, a flower lay, a little crushed, where her hand had been; her hand was sparkling with a golden light. After making a hasty assessment of herself, she realized that she didn't really feel any worse - as a matter of fact, she felt energized.  
  
Aiyana's eyes widened, and she smiled. She laid her hand on another small flower growing around the base of Crystal Palace. Once again, there was that little electric charge. She lifted her hand, and the flower this time also looked a little crushed. Her hand shone with that same golden light, tinged with a little violet she saw by staring closer, and she had an extra feeling of energy.  
  
"I think," she whispered to herself, "that I just found the other half of my parentage within myself." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------AN: I'm almost positive I didn't spell *jus sanguineous* right, but it's a real clause. I'm just too lazy to look up the spelling.  
  
Email me at keskiivikko@yahoo.com for questions and stoof. 


	27. Desperation

Chapter Twenty-Seven - Desperation  
  
***  
  
King Endymion winced as he felt another small surge/loss of power go through him. Aiyana was really laying it on, he thought. He wished she would stop before somone noticed the awkward way he was walking. What in hell was she doing?  
  
The two senshi and two generals in the communcations room had sent a messenger to go get him to come, promptly, to the communications room. He had sent back the messenger to tell them that he was currently poring over the verdict of his and Selenity's decision about Aiyana. That was true. He was thinking heavily about Aiyana and the repurcussions if she stayed here - or what would happen if she ruled that she go.  
  
He knew Ami and her crew had something up their sleeves. Sailorneptune and Sailoruranus had professed no affiliates, and it was impossible to tell what they were doing. Those two always had their own agenda and he left them to their own devices. But Mercury and Jupiter - there was no telling what those two were ready to do, and what they knew already.  
  
If anyone found out that he was Aiyana's father, and that Hotaru was her mother, then Aiyana would have a claim to Japanese citizenry and he couldn't banish her without due trial. Then the whole ugly truth would come tumbling out. Frankly, King Endymion didn't want to revisit a mistake he'd made over nine hundred years ago.  
  
However, if he didn't banish her, and allowed her to stay here on Earth in Crystal Tokyo, there would be questions from Mars and Venus and their administration. Selenity might even have questions if she wanted to rule opposite him. And that would also cause some problems.  
  
Either way, he'd have to tell them the truth, and that was not something that Endymion wanted to do.  
  
He erased those thoughts from his mind as he entered the communications center of Crystal Palace. Sailorjupiter, Sailormercury, Zoisite, and Nephrite were plastered to the screen, watching a scene that did not look very pretty.  
  
"What's going on?" asked Endymion. "What the hell is that?"  
  
"Mars' and Kunzite's ships were hit by a large missile from the spacecraft," Zoisite replied, never taking his eyes from the screen. "Mars' was hit head-on, Kunzite's got a nick on the side. After that, the starship took off and must be looking for a place to land. We have no idea where they went; they cloaked themselves from our radar. Their positioning at the atmosphere was in the general area of the tip of Africa to the subcontinent of India, but the field is big because they were far away yet, and then they cloaked themselves and we lost them."  
  
"However," said Sailormercury, "with all sense of practicality, they wouldn't land too far from here. They did seem to establish some sort of contact with our ships before deploying their second and third missiles, but we lost communication with Mars' and Kunzite's ships and Jadeite and Venus aren't answering. They probably went to attend to the other two."  
  
King Endymion shook his head gravely. "You said Kunzite's ship got a nick. Was it the side closest to the cockpit?"  
  
"No, your highness," Nephrite said. "The hit was on the opposite end of the cockpit."  
  
"So maybe Kunzite is still stable along with his crew," said King Endymion. "Punch up some communication with the ship."  
  
Zoisite did so and picked up the small mike, clipping it to the front of his uniform. "Kunzite, crew, are you all right, man?"  
  
A loud burst of crackling burst across the room. Endymion grimaced.  
  
"Your highness?"  
  
"Ah...a little too loud for me," he said, cursing the hereditary nature of his powers. What the hell was Aiyana doing? Must have been testing out her new powers, or something like that, because she was really, really laying it on. It was beginning to make him mad. Of course, she couldn't possibly know that he could feel her use of his - now her - powers, but all the same...  
  
"This is Kunzite."  
  
"Kunzite!" Zoisite exclaimed. "Kunzite, are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, for the most part," the voice came back over. "Minako's hysterical, of course. I really am fine, though. The missile missed the cockpit but tore through the chambers, which is why I'm really glad I'd ordered everyone to the bridge. It did shake us back a bit, and a few men were thrown. One of them went through the glass at the back of the pit and he's got about three men around him fishing pieces of glass from his body."  
  
This time, everyone winced at the thought of such a scene.  
  
"Yeah, it's not pretty," Kunzite agreed. "We haven't heard anything from Mars' ship. It looks completely totalled and the cockpit was hit. Jadeite's afraid we've lost them."  
  
"No!" Mercury and Jupiter said at the same time.  
  
"Jadeite's marrying his ship to hers; if he can pry away the twisted metal from the hatch, he can get inside and check the damages. Venus is coming over here, but the marrying hatch has been blown off and she has to find another entry...oh, she just said she found one. She'll be inside in a minute." Kunzite sighed a little. "See if you can get Jadeite on his dial- up."  
  
"Great," said Nephrite. "So how are you, really?"  
  
"I'm actually on the floor," he said cheerfully, "and I'm not going to try to get up. I feel pain in my leg and I know there's something sticking through it. I only hope it's something like a chair leg and not a piece of my bone or something. But other than that...head's clear, body's okay besides the leg and some blood on my arm, not mine, I don't think. This guy...well, we're not cute, but Mars' ship probably looks worse. I'm going over and out so you guys can talk to Jadeite." Kunzite's voice blinked out, and the mike went dead.  
  
"I'm going to try to get Jadeite's ship," Zoisite said, typing quickly in the computer. The communication went through and beeped several times, but there was no answer.  
  
"They're probably all on Mars' ship, trying to aid the men on there and get ready for a landing back here," said Sailormercury. "You don't think Mars might have."  
  
The five looked at each other gravely.  
  
"I'm only glad the Usako isn't present," said King Endymion quietly. "She'd be a basket case."  
  
The other four warriors nodded.  
  
"What should we do?" asked Nephrite.  
  
"I'm going to go in my office and call the hospital," Endymion said. "I'll tell them to get ready for the arrival of - how many were on Mars' ship?"  
  
"There were about twenty men on each ship," Zoisite answered.  
  
"The arrival of about twenty men in critical condition and about twenty more injured, but somewhat stable," Endymion finished. "I'm also going to draft a letter to send to them, as well as prepare for it if these-" Endymion almost spat the word out, half-amused. "-these aliens decide they want to come up to Crystal Palace." He stared back at the screen. "At least one of you remain here at all times in case one of the ships tries to contact you. If you have any other duties that you think you need to do, do them now."  
  
The four of them nodded.  
  
"Where are your children at?" Endymion asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.  
  
"They divided them up equally," Ami answered with a warm smile. "Teruo conceded to be away from Masaya for a day and he's with Hitomi and Megami taking care of Yoshiko, Jiro, Ichiro, and Tenrei at Rei's house. Masaya is with Emi and Izumi at my house, and they've got Nanami, Manami, Yuriko...and Mikomi."  
  
"Who is Mikomi?" asked King Endymion.  
  
"Aiyana's daughter."  
  
She knew. Endymion could tell, not by the way she looked at him, but by the way Jupiter regarded him - accusatory, and guiltily at the same time - that she knew. Mercury was too discreet to look at him in any other way, and she quickly turned her eyes back to the computer screen, not wanting to face him. But Jupiter - who had always been especially protective of Serenity - knew, and at that moment he knew that Mercury also knew.  
  
They could use that as a weapon against him. So far, they hadn't. But did they care about him more, or Aiyana? The answer should have been obvious: him. They cared about Serenity, too, so they were holding off using that information for as long as possible. But in time, if he expressed a desire to send her off, they would use it.  
  
But Jupiter didn't know that he knew. Mercury might - she was shrewder, had more finesse, than Sailorjupiter. It was obvious all in that simple stare that Sailorjupiter didn't know that he knew Aiyana was his daughter, and she wasn't going to ask, of course - Zoisite and Nephrite had no idea.  
  
Before he locked eyes with Sailorjupiter long enough to indicate any kind of shock or other emotion at the news, he turned on his heel and left the room.  
  
***  
  
Aiyana smiled brightly. The essences of the plants she had sapped had given her all of her needed energy, and she was ready to circle the base of Crystal Palace to find her entrance. The sun was setting, and she had to find it before dark - it would be much harder to find the entrance in the dark. The sun set in the west on Earth...she thought. The king and queen's bedroom chambers were in the north wing of the palace on the third floor.  
  
Aiyana turned around, and judging by the position of the sun, she ran towards the north. The entrance had been almost directly under the crystal staircase that led to the third floor, in order to find the room that the monarchs slept in easily. Aiyana used her senses of sight and touch at the same time as she felt for the tell-tale nick in the wall that would signal her entrance site.  
  
Suddenly a thought struck her mind. What if the guards had found and further sealed her entrance? Then she would have wasted her time, all for nothing. Well, she would just have to hope they didn't find it. No one would have known how she had gotten in, right?  
  
Her worries evaporated when she felt a small crevice in the crystalline wall of the palace. Yes, there it was. Did the palace have regenerative powers? Maybe the crystal had grown back together. But the crevice was still large enough to stick her fingernail in, and the tightness felt the same - her fingernail was just barely able to fit in there - so hopefully that was a good sign.  
  
Aiyana stood back from the wall and stared at the small entrance site. Six months ago, a good kick would have sent the chink flying inwards, and she would have easily been in. Now, even with the extra energy afforded her by stealing that of the flowers', she still didn't know whether or not she'd be able to get inside.  
  
"Well," she told herself, "summoning my powers together by calling on the guardian of Saturn worked before. Let's see if it will work this time."  
  
She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. "Guardian god Saturn," she said, "give me the strength to do this." Opening her eyes, she smiled broadly, then reared back and kicked the side of the palace right in the middle of the entrance they had cut.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Aiyana went tumbling backwards on the soft green grass, rolling quite a ways away from the wall. "What...it worked before!" she thought aloud. "What happened?"  
  
She scratched her head.and the answer hit her. Before, she had been desperate, and her desperation moved her to call on the full force of her power and to believe it was there. At the moment, her full force wasn't working because the same desperation and belief wasn't there. She didn't have the faith in the power that she had before.  
  
"Desperation...what do I really want, more than anything?" Aiyana aked herself, staring at the crystal walls of the palace. "Using my desire to carry on my mother's legacy isn't enough. I don't want to become Sailorsaturn; I don't want to do this. Wanting to see Mikomi again might not work either. I can always walk away and go home. What do I want that lies inside these crystal walls?"  
  
The answer came almost instantly upon her. "I want to see my father."  
  
With that thought in mind, Aiyana closed her eyes again, clasping her hands together, and collapsed to her knees on the grass below her. "Guardian god Saturn," she intoned again, "give me the strength to see my father!"  
  
This time, the kick wasn't even needed. The force of her will was strong enough. She jutted the heel of her hand forward into the cut-away entrance. A bright violet light shone from within her hand, and the slab of crystal cut out of the wall fell inwards with a hard, hollow ~thud~.  
  
Aiyana smiled crawled on top of it, sliding through the small entrance it afforded, dragging her sword behind her - Masaya had found it for her in a small cabinet in the hopital somewhere - and setting the slab back up against the outside of the wall so that the crevice wasn't fully visible. She and the Second Delta had made quite a tunnel to go through the wall of the palace, which was rather thick, and then to enter into the small chamber that appeared to be an office of some sort. He hadn't actually gone inside the palace, just cut the other small entrance for Aiyana to go into and held the crystal slab so it wouldn't fall and alert the entire palace to their arrival. Aiyana could still feel herself glowing with the golden power and she knew she had enough left to open the entrance on the other side of the tunnel.  
  
Again she braced the heel of her hand against the middle of the crystal slab. She didn't care about sound this time - didn't care if the whole palace heard her, as long as she was inside. She reared back and hit it again. The same bright violet power glowed on on her hand as it glided forwards, and the second crystal slab fell in, leaving a small exit for Aiyana to crawl through. The office was small and looked pretty private; Aiyana was pretty sure it was one of the king's or queen's private offices and that no one besides one of them would be in there. No one she couldn't handle, as long as she had her sword.  
  
She rolled through the entrance, pulling her sword behind her, and pulled herself to a standing position. As soon as she looked at the floor, she knew someone was there. Newly polished white shoes were standing on the floor in front of her.  
  
Aiyana's breath caught in her throat, and she turned her face upwards to look into the eyes of her father.  
  
-------------------  
  
AN: Hah hah, cliffhanger! Kind of ironic that the room Aiyana and Tamashiiro busted is the same little office in which King Endymion has been hiding all his letters from Hotaru over the years, isn't it?  
  
Send any and all questions to keskiivikko@yahoo.com. 


	28. Explaining the Truth

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Explaining the Truth  
  
***  
  
The man, King Endymion, was easily distinguishable as such. Aiyana could see that right away. But it wasn't because of his regal clothes, the staff he carried, or even the fact that he was in the small office she had deemed as private. It was the simple fact that she had looked for resemblances between the two of them, and they had been there.  
  
Besides the eyes, the other resemblances were easily definable, although it had been determined that she looked almost wholly like Hotaru. They had the same sharp, straight chin, Aiyana noticed, which was probably the most noticeable besides the feature in their eyes. Their body build was both tall and slender. And the long, tapering fingers were common to each.  
  
But the eyes...it was as if looking into a mirror. While the king's were narrower, thinner, indicating older age, they were both of the same color, as if the oceans themselves had dropped a little of their radiance into both sets. But whereas the king's were now large and shocked, Aiyana's were of regular size and very calm, as if she had been expecting to see her father standing before her.  
  
*I wonder if all generations of Saturns get their father's eyes,* Aiyana wondered, realizing that Mikomi, too, had a perfect mirror of her father's eyes.  
  
"You!" King Endymion exclaimed, backing away.  
  
"And you," Aiyana added, half-bitterly, half-nonchalantly. She realized that she was still holding her sword and that her knuckles had tightened quite a bit around the hilt, so she relaxed her grip and hoped that was the only reason he had moved away from her.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Actually, that's not the first thing King Endymion wanted to tumble from his mouth. How did you get here, where are you living, are you all right...those things had tossed in his head, too. But the questions he actually asked had been the first thing that had found his mouth, thus the question.  
  
"Looking for you." It wasn't entirely truthful; her chief mission in the palace was actually to look for the transformation wand that Hotaru had supposedly left behind. But she was in the palace looking for King Endymion as well: she'd wanted to meet her father, and now she was facing him.  
  
All the other questions King Endymion had got stuck in his throat.  
  
"Do you recognize me?" Aiyana said, suddenly curiously angry. "Do you see a resemblance at all? Do you even know what I looked like when I was younger?"  
  
"Of course I did," Endymion said defensively. "Your mother sent me pictures."  
  
"So you *do* know." Aiyana tilted her head to the side and stared up into Endymion's eyes. "How long have you known?"  
  
"Since the day I saw you walking around the palace with Masaya," he admitted. "The first time you came out, I believe. Way back, about five or six months ago."  
  
"You've known about me for six months and you never came to see me?" Aiyana asked, her eyes narrowed. "Never came to ask about me, to see my child, your granddaugter? Never even inquired about my welfare or tried to grant me asylum?"  
  
"What did you expect me to do?" King Endymion asked, throwing his hands up. "Send out a Macy's parade for your arrival?"  
  
"I expected you to act like a father," said Aiyana. "But why should I have? You haven't done that in seventeen years!"  
  
King Endymion exhaled loudly and let his hands fall back to his sides. "I couldn't," he said softly. "I couldn't have any more interest in you that would seem normal. I couldn't tell anyone you were my daughter!"  
  
"Why not?" Aiyana asked, her voice almost tearful now. "Why? Why couldn't you? Why did you have to hide me for years, never come to see me, only write letters and never tell anything about me?"  
  
"Have a seat," Endymion said, gesturing to the comfortable recliner and the desk in front of him. Aiyana sullenly sat on the desk, letting her legs dangle from it. Endymion went to check that the door was locked, then collapsed into the soft leather recliner, sighing deeply.  
  
"I've actually been waiting to explain this to you," he said. "Ever since that first day I saw you, I've been anticipating explaining the truth to you. But I never...I never really...you know when you think of something, and it's so close you can taste it - you start planning out ways to do it in your mind - and you still think it will never happen?"  
  
Aiyana nodded.  
  
"That's the way I felt," he said. "I knew what I wanted to tell you, knew what I had to tell you. But I never actually imagined telling you for real. I thought it would all blow over, that somehow you would disappear and I wouldn't have to deal with it. Once I tell you, Aiyana, I will have to tell everyone, and that's going to be hard for me."  
  
"You would let me be executed before you would face your disgrace?" Aiyana asked incredulously.  
  
King Endymion could do nothing but stare at her for a moment. "I don't know," he said. "Fear is a horrible thing, Aiyana, and I was afraid."  
  
"Afraid of what?" she scoffed. "You're the king. They can't execute you - your wife wouldn't allow it, would she? And I doubt they would try for a little infidelity. You seem to be well liked here." Aiyana noticed the way Endymion winced at the word 'infidelity.' "So are all the rumors untrue, then? Were you really unfaithful to your wife?"  
  
"No," said Endymion. "Listen, I'll tell you everything.  
  
"By now, you should know of the warriors the Sailor Senshi, right?" Aiyana nodded, and he continued. "Well, the story of them actually starts millennia ago, in a kingdom called the Silver Millennium. It was the stuff of dreams. The planets in our solar system were all inhabited, and they had kingdoms. At the head of each kingdom was a princess and a warrior, the warriors of eight of the nine planets. The same senshi you know today? The same princess-warrior of the old days. Sailor Mercury was also Princess Mercury, and she ruled the planet of Mercury, and so on.  
  
"However, on Earth, a princess wasn't born. A prince was born instead - me, Prince Endymion. I was gifted with the powers of a warrior, but not a full Sailor Senshi. Only females could be Sailor Senshi and protect their planet fully.  
  
"Anyway, there was this whole long history in the Silver Millennium that really isn't relevant. Just know that I was the prince of this planet, and Neo-Queen Serenity, my wife, was the princess of the Moon. We...we had a relationship during the Silver Millennium's reign, but it was cursed from Serenity's birth and a great war against the dark forces destroyed the Moon Kingdom and the other kingdoms of the Silver Millennium. Since the forces were from Earth, the Earth was left intact, and so Serenity's mother sent us all to be reincarnated to new lives on Earth one thousand years into the future.  
  
"One thousand years in the future turned out to be twentieth centry Tokyo, Japan, what Crystal Tokyo used to be. One by one, the Senshi were discovered and awakened to their powers. But the one sent to find the Senshi, a guardian cat named Luna, made a mistake. She found the moon princess, Serenity, and mistook her for a warrior. She couldn't sense the powers of any of the planets - Mercury, Mars, Venus, or Jupiter - within her, so she created a transformation item for her, and the new warrior was dubbed Sailor Moon.  
  
"Me, I found myself. Or rather, my instincts found me. Every time Serenity - her name was Usagi then - would transform into Sailor Moon and get into trouble, I would transform into a superhero, named Tuxedo Kamen. My biggest attack was to throw roses made of my ki at an enemy to damage their vitality, so that Sailor Moon could eventually eliminate that enemy.  
  
"We fought for two years as Senshi, and over that course of time, we discovered Sailors Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn. The first four girls were destined to forever protect the Moon Princess, and because of that commission, they became the best of friends to Usagi. They are the women as you know of them. The latter four had various other duties that kept them from becoming close friends with Usagi. Sailor Pluto was the Time Guardian, destined to watch the Gates of Time forever and to stop the timeline from being altered. Sailors Uranus and Neptune protected the galaxy from outer influences and were away a lot, and Sailor Saturn...  
  
"Sailor Saturn was the warrior of Death and Rebirth. You see, during the Silver Millennium's reign, Sailor Saturn was called by special talismen of Pluto, Uranus, and Neptune. The carnage had gone too far, and Sailor Saturn's powers of destruction were needed to end it all. Sailor Saturn can only end eras because the regenerative powers of the moon line can start them again - it's like a checks and balances system. So when Sailor Saturn ended the Silver Millennium with her staff of death, the Silence Glaive, the Moon Queen - Usagi's true mother - rebirthed our souls on Earth.  
  
"Well, because of her destructive powers and the ominous feelings that they brought, Sailor Saturn was to remain asleep most of the time. She would only awaken when called by the talismen of the other three Outer soldiers. She held the ultimate powers of both life and death, and could give life and take it away. Are you getting all this?"  
  
Aiyana nodded again, but didn't say anything. She wanted King Endymion to continue.  
  
"After our two years of fighting, we believed that our lives as soldiers of peace and justice were over. A year passed, and Usagi and I began planning our wedding. But Usagi was always there to spot an injustice, and that's when the greatest injustice of all arose in her eyes."  
  
"You two were in the middle of planning your wedding, but the other Sailor Senshi had no one to be with," said Aiyana.  
  
"Exactly. The timeline had dictated that Sailors Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus forever be the close guardians of Usagi, and the same with Pluto, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Their bodies as well as their souls and starseeds were immortal, and they were not granted with the ability to procreate. It was discovered they were all infertile. There was no need for them to have children, since they would be the protectors of Serenity and all her progeny for years to come. They were cursed to never fall into true love, since Serenity was supposed to be their one true love, the one they would protect for eternity. It was something they didn't take too hard. They knew their destiny and accepted it.  
  
"But Usagi couldn't accept it. She wanted the girls to know the joy that she and I experienced of being in love. So, being as willful as she is, she made a wish on the ginzuishou.  
  
"The Maboroshi no Ginzuishou is a powerful silver-colored crystal that has been passed down in Serenity's line for millennia," King Endymion continued. "It has been referred to as the key to the universe. It has power whose only limit is the constraints of it's user. The ginzuishou has the power to do anything - reverse curses and destiny, change timelines and lives forever, and destroy even the darkest of evils. And since Serenity's line was tied in with the life of the ginzuishou, there was nothing that she couldn't do with it. Usagi knew this.  
  
"So she made a wish on the ginzuishou - a wish that the other girls would be freed of the obligation to care for her their entire life, that they could have lives and families and, most importantly to Usagi, fall in love. Since the Senshi's curse to protect Serenity forever didn't come until after the Silver Millennium was destroyed, probably per an unconscious request by Serenity's mother, they had the ability to fall in love before the Millennium ended - and indeed, all had. So their soulmates' starseeds returned to Earth and were reborn, thanks to Serenity's wish, which made some pretty impossible things happen.  
  
"The four men, the Senshi's husbands, had been my protectors and generals when I was a prince on Earth, and they each had their own magical powers," King Endymion said. "During the Silver Millennium's reign, Serenity and my love had been forbidden. So the Senshi and my generals would have to chase and find us in order to keep us apart as we were supposed to be. During those duties, and probably other meetings arranged so, they managed to fall in love with each other. So, these four men - Zoisite, Jadeite, Nephrite, and Kunzite - were reborn with Earth identities on Earth in Tokyo.  
  
"Through what must have been a miracle, each of the girls was reunited with the one they had loved of old and they all got together. Now Usagi and I could plan our marriage in peace. However, there must have been some outside forces that kept us from planning our marriage peacefully, and we were stopped by a new battle that ensued. And this is where I explain how you came to be born.  
  
"There were youma all over the Earth this time. Our new enemy was smart - they knew that the way to hit us was not to deploy one or two youma in Tokyo, but to flood the Earth with them and get them out of control. And besides that, we were a few years out of practice with the transforming, the youma battles, and all. Since they were all over, we decided to split into groups of two and battle the youma all over. I was paired with Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter were together, Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus, and Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus. Finally, Uranus, Pluto and Neptune pooled their powers, and they awoke Sailor Saturn, who was paired with Sailor Pluto.  
  
"We fought all over the Earth, tirelessly. There were youma all over the place, but they were weak and easily destroyed by a strong blast. However, there were enough to do considerable damage. We began to weaken, and were inevitably separated and regrouped upon finding another one of us. I can't tell you who I was with besides Usagi, but I do remember - how could I forget? - that the last person who completed my pair was Sailor Saturn.  
  
"Remember I told you my ki attacks were in the form of sharp-tipped roses? The roses were created of my own life essences; since I was the Senshi of Earth, in a sense, I had the life-giving and regenerative powers of the Earth. So my roses had the element of life within them. Saturn was a perfect balance for that power - her powers also encompassed life, but not so much life as mine. My powers were all about the energy and the abundance of life, hers more about the limits of the life, birth and death.  
  
"We were fighting a particularly abundant group of youma, when we were down to about two. I aimed my ki attack at one of them. Apparently, Sailor Saturn didn't see my attack, and she went after the youma with a physical attack. My rose hit her in the chest, and it stuck there. She fainted and collapsed.  
  
"What was I to do? The youma would have killed us both. So I played dead. The youma were stupid enough to think that we were both dead, and they left us to create more carnage elsewhere. As soon as they left, I got up to check on Saturn. The rose was in a fatal-looking spot, but I thought I could pull it out, then heal her - we both had healing powers - no problem, right? Wrong.  
  
"The ki rose was never *meant* to come *out* of anyone. So it was stubborn and it wouldn't come out! Saturn was losing a lot of blood and I was afraid she'd die. She told me to use my powers to get the rose out, as that might work, and so I expended a tremendous amount of ki trying to dislodge the rose from her chest, while she used hers to try and purge it. After a while, we did get it out.  
  
"Remember I told you our powers were the perfect balance? They were the two aspects of life. The limits of life, and the abundance of it. When the two combined, I guess they created *a* life."  
  
Aiyana widened her eyes. "Me!"  
  
"You," Endymion concluded. "Thanks in part to Serenity's wish, Saturn had the ability to carry life inside herself, and carry life she did. I was about twenty-one at the time. Saturn, who knows? The youma were everywhere, and the world was degenerating quickly. In time, it would fall to the hands of the enemy. And suddenly, they retracted. Kind of like the Romans in 66 C.E. We celebrated their retreat, and Usagi and I got married, finally! We still didn't know that Hotaru was pregnant. So Usagi and I got married, and Usagi got pregnant with Chibi-usa...who demands to be called Usa now. She would be your younger half-sister.  
  
"However, just like the Romans in 70 C.E., the enemy came back when were at our weakest - Usagi was pregnant, and Saturn was acting weird. Instead of fighting and risking the life of our future Moon Queen, the Senshi decided it was time for Sailor Saturn to act. Saturn enacted her powers of destruction and used her Death Reborn Revolution attack to begin the destruction of the world. But Serenity had rebirth powers, and before the attack completely destroyed the Earth - just like during the Silver Millenium's reign - Serenity used the ginzuishou to ensure that we would be reborn. So while the destruction was taking place, we were encased in crystals."  
  
"The Cold Sleep!" Aiyana exclaimed. "So that explains how I was conceived before the Cold Sleep, and still before your other daughter!"  
  
"Yes," King Endymion. "After the Cold Sleep - how long it lasted, we don't know - it certainly added many, many years to our lives. After the Cold Sleep ended, Serenity's pregnancy must have regressed somehow. She was still pregnant with Chibi-usa, but for some reason, her gestation period wasn't just nine months. It took a few years! The upset timeline must have caused time to stretch for a while - but only in Crystal Tokyo. In other places, time had gone on as normal.  
  
"After a little while, Hotaru came to me and told me that she was pregnant, then explained how she thought it happened. And after a little experimentation - no, not more babies! We used a little of our powers to see if we could animate non-living things. It worked! So we figured that if a little of our power could do all that damage, how much more must we have done with the power that it took to extract that rose? We figured that's what must have gotten Hotaru pregnant. So Hotaru decided that she wanted to move away. She didn't want to disturb our new lives in Crystal Tokyo, didn't want to explain. So she merely moved away. I helped her get settled.  
  
"As soon as she moved away from Crystal Tokyo and out of the time stretch, her gestation went back to normal. She went into labor a month after she moved into Dublin, Ireland - after what must have been centuries of her carrying you - and on January fourteenth, twenty-nine eighty-three, you were born."  
  
Aiyana's eyes were as wide as saucers.  
  
"Four years later, on June thirtieth, twenty-nine eighty-seven, Chibi-usa was born. So you see, you are older than Chibi-usa by both conception and birth, due to the time stretch and the power by which you were conceived."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------  
  
AN: I know I really messed up the Sailor Moon timeline in this chapter. To tell you the truth, it confuses me, so I fudged a lot of it. It's really more based on the anime timeline, but I mixed in parts of the manga and made up some stuff as I went along. It really wasn't fully explained by Takeuchi-sensei, so I took creative liaison. So shoot me. 


	29. No Unwanted Accident

Chapter Twenty-Nine - No Unwanted Accident  
  
***  
  
"All right. Acting First through Third Deltas, stand down until I tell you what to do. Acting Fourth through Seventh Deltas, take the Epsilons, the Etas, the Zetas, and the Psi out to the launchpad to get those envoys ready to leave for Crystal Tokyo. We want to leave in under an hour, so make it quick!" Prince Tamashiiro clapped his hands. "You...what number are you anyway?"  
  
"Fourteenth, sire," the Lambda doctor answered.  
  
Prince Tamashiiro nodded. Fourteenth Lambda wasn't so bad. The Civilian classes in Andromeda weren't controlled like the Military, so there was an unlimited amount in any one class. Fourteenth Lambda was actually quite high, considering the hundreds - perhaps throusands - of educated, university-level professionals in the Andromedan solar system.  
  
"Fourteenth Lambda, go assist my father. He'll probably need a bit of debriefing and information about the situation we're in here." The emperor was old, and he had been sleeping for much of the tail end of the trip in his quarters, through the short altercation with the forces of Earth and the bumpy entrance into the atmosphere.  
  
The first ship's crew, including the prince, emperor, and the first three Deltas, had rested for three days, waiting for the second starship to arrive on Earth. Late last night the second starship had asked for landing coordinates. The Deltas and one of the Eta pilots had given them the coordinates to landing site a few kilometres outside of Alice Springs, Australia, where they had landed. Within an hour, the second starship had landed in Alice Springs - without any problems from an Earthian force. They seemed to have went back to their base in Crystal Tokyo to assess their damages.  
  
A few hours later the Seventh Delta returned to tell Prince Tamashiiro that the envoys were ready, the Psi soldiers and the Epsilon were in their envoy, and the Zetas and Etas were also ready to leave. "The only ones we are waiting for are you and the first three Deltas, your majesty," he said.  
  
Prince Tamashiiro turned and nodded at the three Deltas, whom he had been conferring with on his plans for Crystal Tokyo once they arrived. "Let's go," he said. "No sense in keeping Crystal Tokyo waiting. We've got the benefit of the surprise; they'll never expect us to show up this morning."  
  
***  
  
"I still don't understand, though," Aiyana said. She'd propelled herself off the desk and was now pacing the length of the small office. "If the truth was that you weren't unfaithful to your wife, and you and my mother had a perfectly innocent reason for my appearance, then why did you find the need to keep it secret and never come to see me?"  
  
"Because," King Endymion said. "Your appearance totally disrupts the timeline. You see, Aiyana, if you were to receive the kingdom, you'd completely destroy the timeline's dictations that a descendent of the Moon Kingdom should rule as queen of the kingdom, and more importantly, that someone directly connected to my line should become the king and control the kinzuishou."  
  
Aiyana whipped around and faced King Endymion. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"Didn't I tell you that the Earth was my planet?" King Endymion said. He jumped up and began to pace himself. "Even though the Moon Kingdom was installed on the Earth, the kingdom was blended with mine, and the kingdoms are now one. The law still sticks. The firstborn of the possessor of the planet's blood becomes the future ruler of the kingdom - doesn't matter if the child is the offspring of both. For instance, if this kingdom were stationed on the Moon, Chibi-usa would become the queen because, even though you are older than her, she is the firstborn of Serenity, and the Moon is her planet.  
  
"However, since this is my planet of origin, my firstborn offspring is due to inherit the line of the kingdom. And you are my firstborn." King Endymion stopped pacing and faced Aiyana. "You, my dear, are the heir to the kingdom and the next ruler in line for Crystal Tokyo."  
  
Aiyana's eyes widened in shock. "I'm...I'm a princess?"  
  
"Not only are you *a* princess, but you're the *crown* princess, being the oldest and the heir."  
  
Aiyana sank into the leather recliner, utterly shocked. "This...this is all mine?"  
  
"By law and by blood, this kingdom is partly yours and is supposed to become all yours someday."  
  
Aiyana looked at the floor. "So you aren't going to contest it?"  
  
"I can't," King Endymion said. "The law states that the heir to the throne becomes the crown princess by her sixteenth birthday. Chibi-usa is only thirteen, and she hasn't been inaugurated yet. If she had been inaugurated, it wouldn't matter that you were older - no inauguration can be revoked." Endymion shook his head. "But because she is only thirteen, she still had three more years to go. Three more years to wait!  
  
"I was going to tell Serenity, I really was. I was going to come get you, once Chibi-usa turned sixteen and was inaugurated. Then it wouldn't matter. But your arrival now...has displaced everything. Since I can't hide it anymore, I also must follow the law."  
  
"You can't change the law?"  
  
"No. That's expressly stated in the charter of Crystal Tokyo. The king can propose laws, veto laws, and propose changes, but he can't just up and change a law. It takes review by an especially appointed council for that purpose, and the review would come too late. You're already a year overdue for the inauguration, and the law would force me to inaugurate you, at most, three months from now."  
  
"If you had waited until Princess Lady Serenity was sixteen, I would be twenty years old. How much getting could you have done?"  
  
"Not much, actually," the king admitted. "But because you are the crown princess, there are certain things that protect you. For one, I have special sanction to keep you out of prison. So even if you were to run a rampage right now, if I so chose, I could override even the council's choice to place you in prison.  
  
"Secondly, you have to be inaugurated no later than three months after either one, your sixteenth birthday, or two, your discovery of bloodline, unless special circumstances arise that cause the inaguration to be postponed." Endymion shook his head. "I don't think the council worded that right. I'm not even completely sure why that clause was inserted in the law. I suppose it was just so that there would be provisions for young princesses like Usagi - who were sent to a new life and didn't find out that they were the princess of their kingdom until over one thousand years later. It was provided so that Serenity would be able to become queen of the kingdom."  
  
"I'm going to be queen of this kingdom," Aiyana said, mostly to herself.  
  
Endymion nodded, a little unhappily. "The reason why I kept it a secret is because there was always supposed to be a Moon Queen on the throne. Serenity's line controls the ginzuishou, and there is no other line that can control it like her. My daughter...my other daughter...Chibi-usa, also has that ability. She is being trained in the powers of the ginzuishou and the progress of the kingdom.  
  
"And it's been perfectly arranged so that there shall be a successor to my power on this throne as well. Back in the days of the Silver Millennium, I had a young priest who protected me, the priest Helios. Helios is also able to control my sacred stone, the kinzuishou, and also carries the blood of the Earth and it's powers within him. Fortunately for us, Chibi-usa happened to fall in love with Helios, and so if she marries him - as she has expressed a desire to, although it's a little early for that yet..." Endymion smiled, a little wistfully. "Of course, I'm not one to prevent a marriage if my daughter truly loves him and he loves her in return, both of which I know are true. I had to go through that when I was younger with Serenity, and I wouldn't want to put my daughter through it."  
  
Aiyana smiled a little at the look on Endymion's face. It was a look of love - fatherly love. She wondered if he had ever wore that look on his face while writing letters to her, or reading the letters Hotaru had sent, or looking at a picture of her. Did he love her half as much as he loved his other daughter, even if she was not the offspring of his beloved Serenity? Aiyana could tell that was half the reason that Lady Serenity was such a jewel in his eye - she had heard the young princess looked almost exactly like her mother, and she had mannerisms resembling the queen as well.  
  
"But I digress. It was the perfect arrangement - to carry on both of our lines. And Helios was training another young priest - chosen by destiny, he would say - to follow in his footsteps; hopefully, any daughter of theirs will find interest in him. Helios says it's destined, and he is a priest."  
  
"But you aren't interested in any of Helios' priests." Now Endymion smiled again, a genuine smile that was close to the wistful smile he'd had on his face when speaking of Lady Serenity. "You love the son of Venus, Masaya."  
  
Aiyana turned red. "Masaya-sensei is my friend," she said.  
  
"He's more than a friend. I haven't even seen the two of you together since that day you were jogging around the palace, and I could tell that something was beginning between you then. Besides, Hotaru told me in one of her letters that you loved him, and she knows you better than you know yourself."  
  
King Endymion turned thoughtful. "Now that I think about it, it might even work," said King Endymion. "The roles would be a bit reversed, of course. But you do carry the partial bloodline of the Earth within you, and the power of Saturn is close enough to my own to work along with destiny. After all, it is the Earth Planet. As for Masaya - jumping ahead of the real situation, of course - the lines of Venus and the Moon are closely related. He would not be able to use the ginzuishou, of course, but with a direct connection through Chibi-usa, he could learn how to approach..."  
  
"King Endymion," said Aiyana, redder than before, "you are really getting ahead of yourself."  
  
Endymion paused and laughed, nodding. "Yes, I am, aren't I?" he said. His eyes were sparkling when he laid them back on Aiyana.  
  
"In any event, even if I could change the law...I'm not *so* sure I would."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Really. Aiyana..." King Endymion looked away, past her, through the window of the office behind her. "You have shown yourself to be capable and compassionate. Your mother shows great faith in you, and I have reason to, as well. You've always done well in your studies, just as Chibi-usa has, and you have a certain grace to you befitting a queen. And..." He trailed off, his eyes coming back to meet hers.  
  
"I have always loved you...my daughter," he continued. "You won't believe how much it hurt me when you refused to return my letters." His expression went watery. "I cried when I received your last. It sounded so hurt, so angry. I was angry at myself. I wanted to be there for you. The joy I had in raising Chibi-usa...I wanted to share that twice over, with you as well. I've always wanted more than one child. My parents died when I was very young. I longed for a family all my life, but all I felt was emptiness. My parnts weren't there for me as I grew up. I was determined to be there for my children when I became a parent. And I still managed to break that resolve."  
  
Endymion banged his hand down on the desk. He was obviously distressed; the pained expression on his face and his taut face and arm muscles displayed that. Aiyana felt her features go soft, and she stepped forward to touch his shoulder.  
  
"Will you be here for me now?" she asked softly.  
  
Endymion turned to look at her. He smiled gently when he saw her eyes. *The resemblance *is* uncanny.*  
  
"Of course I will," he answered.  
  
Aiyana wrapped her arms around his middle, startling Endymion with a short hug. For the second time in two days, she was crying softly again. "Then I forgive you...Father."  
  
King Endymion wrapped his own arms around his daughter and hugged her tightly. "Thank you," he said. "But what about you? I'm afraid I don't know much about what's going on with you. I do know that you have a daughter yourself, though...how did that happen?"  
  
Aiyana kept her eyes low on the ground as she told the king the tale of her time with the Deltas. But she didn't need to look up to know how the king was reacting. He jerked involuntarily the whole time, and the pressure of his arms increased. When she was finished, he was shaking with rage.  
  
"I could just about hunt the universe and personally break with my own hands..." King Endymion shook his head, then unclenched his fists.  
  
"No use," said Aiyana, looking back up at the king. "What's done is done...and I love Mikomi-chan. She's no unwanted accident."  
  
"You weren't unwanted, either," Endymion said, looking down at her. He had caught the tone in her voice and wanted to allay any of her fears. "An accident, maybe...but no unwanted one."  
  
***  
  
"The king says he wants to be debriefed every two hours. It's been two hours, so go get him."  
  
"Too late. I'm already here."  
  
Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter, Nephrite, and Zoisite turned around to face the doorway. Earlier that day, they had gone to the hospital to check on the progress of the other four. Mars had been badly hurt, and she was comatose at the moment. She needed an operation, and Mercury felt helpless - she wanted to do it herself, but she was not a surgeon. The bar sticking through Kunzite's leg *had* been bone - he'd broken his left leg in two places and his right in three. He also had a dislocated arm. Sailor Venus and Jadeite were okay besides minor scratches.  
  
The four's eyes opened wide when the saw who was standing a little behind and to the left of King Endymion. Gently latched onto the shoulder of her father was Aiyana, the traces of a smile on her face.  
  
"I hope you don't mind that I brought my daughter along," he said, smiling faintly as he walked towards the control panel.  
  
Zoisite and Nephrite's jaws dropped to the floor. Sailor Mercury coughed, and Sailor Jupiter smiled triumphantly.  
  
Zoisite and Nephrite exchanged shocked stares and then looked from their king, to Aiyana, and back to the king. "*Daughter?!*"  
  
"It's a long, long, loooooooooong story," Endymion said. "But I can't hide it anymore, and frankly, I don't want to hide it anymore. It's been eating away at me for years."  
  
"Can I ask one question?" Sailor Jupiter asked, raising her hand. "I knew beforehand, of course, but I want to know *why*."  
  
"Why isn't the question, Mako," Endymion said. "It's how that's the question."  
  
He told Zoisite to get what he wanted to show them ready and in the meantime explained what he had just told Aiyana a few hours before - how she had come about.  
  
When he was finished, Sailor Mercury sighed in relief. "You won't believe how many different explanations I tried to think up," she said, giggling a little. "I felt so bad - accusing you of unfaithfulness. I didn't want to do it, I really didn't! But the facts were there. I can't believe I never thought of that!"  
  
"Who would?" the king asked, waving it away. "I would have thought the same myself if I were in your shoes! Who thinks about something like that?"  
  
Mercury and Jupiter laughed, nodding and agreeing.  
  
Zoisite had finally booted up the computer to what he wanted to show the king. On the screen was the picture of the large starship. "We're trying to assess what kind of damage the ship did to our ships. The physical crew is studying the ship now, but we thought we'd review the footage of how the missile hit Rei's ship."  
  
Aiyana turned around to see what everyone was suddenly getting so worked up about. Suddenly, she jumped out of her chair and ran to the screen, pressing her face up close to it.  
  
"What is *wrong* with that girl?" Nephrite asked. "Move away from the screen!"  
  
"Oh, kami-sama." Aiyana turned away from the screen. "Was this ship anywhere in the general vicinity of Earth?"  
  
"Yes, of course," Zoisite said, annoyed. "Why else would we be looking at it? It entered the atmosphere of Earth three days ago. It also hit two of our ships that our very good friends were on."  
  
Aiyana's eyes widened. "Oh, kami-sama," she said again. "This is bad."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
AN: What King Endymion meant about Saturn being the Earth Planet is the Japanese translation of the name for Saturn. In Japanese, Saturn is named Do-sei, or Earth Star/Earth Planet. Earth more refers to soil than to the actual planet. In addition, the god Saturn was the god of agriculture and the harvest, which directly relates to the powers of life and Earth. So that's where that connection came in.  
  
Also, all that crap about Moon and Venus...if you'll remember, in the Sailor V manga, Sailor V (who is Sailorvenus) used Moon Power to transform, and her brooch was in the shape of a crescent moon. She also disguised herself as the Moon Princess, and there were little crescent moons all over the Sailor V fuku. It's quite clear that Takeuchi-sensei intended for the lines to be somewhat related, or at last for Sailorvenus to have close enough ties to Sailormoon. Also remember that Sailorvenus' power is the closest to Sailormoon's - she stands for purity and love; Sailorvenus' powers are based around love and gold.  
  
That's where those connections come in to make it possible for King Endymion to speculate about a Crystal Tokyo ruled by Masaya and Aiyana. 


	30. We Would Have Succeeded

Chapter Thirty - We Would Have Succeeded  
  
***  
  
"What's bad?" Zoisite asked. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Isolate and enlarge the image of that starship," Aiyana said.  
  
Nephrite shot an annoyed look at the king. Endymion shrugged. "Do it," he said.  
  
Zoisite obeyed.  
  
"Oh, kami-sama!" Aiyana said for the third time.  
  
"Kami what?" Zoisite asked. "What are you getting so worked up about?"  
  
"The rotor on the back of the ship is the same, and the gunnery port is of the same design. Besides, it looks exactly like it! That's the Shadowtail!"  
  
"The what?"  
  
"Oh, no...they're still coming, after all that." Aiyana began to pace the length of the control room.  
  
"Well, she's certainly got your nervous habits," Nephrite commented.  
  
"Aiyana," Sailormercury said, "calm down, have a seat, and please explain yourself coherently."  
  
"That would be appreciated," Zoisite added dryly.  
  
"I'm not from this planet," Aiyana replied, seating herself in one of the chairs at the control deck. "I'm from another galaxy, actually. The closest one, the only one visible by the naked eye from the Milky Way. I'm from the galaxy you call Andromeda. Although I was born on Earth, it seems that sometime shortly after my twelfth birthday, I was taken to the Andromeda galaxy, and my memories of Earth were erased."  
  
"Wow," Nephrite said.  
  
"This ship is from the Andromeda galaxy. Or more appropriately, the Omega Empire, which includes the Andromedan galaxy and a small triple-star system about fifty million kilometres away. The two planets in the system are named Centauri and Proximi." Aiyana smiled wryly. "They're pulling my strings. I used to pilot that ship."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Where I come from, there's a highly exalted and methodical Military," Aiyana continued. "I was at the top of the Military...second only to the prince of the system, who was the true head of the Military. The system is based on the letters in our alphabet. The first three and the last dictated the Aristocracy, but the Military was the next level down...I was First Delta Aiyana Khalidah. The Deltas were the highest-ranking segment of the Military consisting of seven specialized officers...kind of like a spy organization. Espionage, assassination, intelligence, that sort of thing."  
  
Nephrite frowned.  
  
"The reason why I was sent to Earth in the first place was to assassinate the king and queen." Aiyana winced. "It was supposed to be an easy mission for me."  
  
"Have you ever done it before?" Nephrite asked quietly.  
  
Aiyana didn't answer his question. "They sent me here, along with the Second Delta - Tamashiiro Tenkami, his name was. Or Tenkami Tamashiiro, by Japanese naming. My mission was to assassinate the king and queen, and also to delete the memory off the mainframe computer, infect it with a stylized virus we had developed, and crash the computer system. The virus was highly deadly to even our computers. It would have completely melted your system.  
  
"Unfortunately, Delta Tenkami and I weren't on particularly good terms." Aiyana looked away. "He resented me for moving up in the Military. And even though I was higher than him, I was afraid of him. Highly afraid. Needless to say, the trip here was rather cold, and he only assisted me into getting into the palace. Although there was no specific mandate saying that he had to wait for me, it was generally accepted that he would. But he didn't - he left me a small envoy with just enough fuel to return home, and left on his path home, leaving me to do the work myself."  
  
"What a snake," Sailorjupiter said.  
  
"Be glad, Hayashino-san," said Aiyana, smiling dryly. "If he'd helped me, we would have succeeded. We were the two top-ranking in the Military, and we were both experienced in this kind of thing. It was supposed to be a stealth mission.  
  
"Unfortunately, as you know, by the time I got to the king and queen's bedroom - undetected so far - someone hit me in the back of the head." She smiled weirdly, a twisted little smile. "Who was it?"  
  
"Sailorsaturn," King Endymion answered, startling everyone.  
  
"Hotaru?!"  
  
"Yes. She told me. She felt Aiyana's presence on Earth. Hotaru developed transport powers to a limited extent - she could teleport herself, but only to a scene where her own powers were at work, and only in the greatest of dire needs. Whatever elixir Aiyana had taken - yes, she wrote me about that too - had excited the power of Saturn within Aiyana, and it brought her here. She transformed into Sailorsaturn and hit her with the blunt end of the glaive. But she was instantly brought back, once she had done what she needed to do, and that's why no one saw her."  
  
"The same way as when she talked to me earlier," Aiyana said. "When you looked down at me over the bed, you didn't know it was me then?"  
  
"It was dark and I wasn't thinking straight," Endymion said. "I was terrified. I saw the blood and halfway thought it was Selenity! I reached over, but she was still there, intact. Even after that, it was too dark to see anything."  
  
"But why did they send you to assassinate the queen?" Zoisite pressed.  
  
"That was only the first phase," Aiyana said. "They had a plan. The Andromedan system is small. They only have six small planets in their solar system, but the population is beginning to overflow. Also, they are running out of resources. They've been searching for what they need elsewhere. Well, they found a lot of it here. An excess of the fuel that we use is located on the planet Venus, and other planets in this system have other resources that Andromedans use.  
  
"The Council proposed that we colonize this solar system, but they needed a base for their work. Andromedans are very much like humans; or rather, they're humanoid. They tend to be a lot taller, and they have slightly longer toes and fingers. Their ears are also weirdly shaped, they have stranger-looking noses, and their eyes are duller and kind of chinky. Their skin is also a lot more prone to diseases, since it's really pale and delicate." Aiyana paused. "The true Centurians and Proximians are kind of reptilian. They tend to be a little weaker than Andromedans or humans. They stand at a slightly shorter height than humans here, and they have long, tapering noses and two rows of teeth, one on the top and one on the bottom. They have tails, too, and usually red eyes. They look like a mix between a big reptile and a human."  
  
The five humans recoiled.  
  
"But," Aiyana continued, "the triple-star system has been ruling Andromeda for so long that they have had a lot of inbreeding, and now almost everyone in Andromeda and the two small planets have some kind of Alphan - that's what they call the two stars together - some kind of Alphan blood in them. There are all sorts of half-humanoid, half-reptilian creatures on the planet. That's why I was so strange-looking and exotic to them - I didn't have any Alphan features at all. Anyone who doesn't is considered...beautiful, I guess. The few pure Andromedans are like jewels to them. They are also stronger than the mixes an the pure Alphans; the Alphans have weaker immune systems and are more prone to diseases. That's why I've seen more than my share of Andromedans. They are prevalent in the military because of their stronger senses."  
  
"So what are these...Andromedans...doing?"  
  
"Well, they needed a base for their work," Aiyana said. "Being light-years away from the Milky Way, they couldn't travel back and forth from day to day, even from month to month. They do know how to do restoration to planets to make them habitable, but they needed a base to do even that. The planets here are just as unhabitable to them as they are to you.  
  
"As they searched, though, they detected Earth. Earthians - humans - were much like the mix-breed of people on Andromeda, and they even seemed very closely related to Andromedans. They only very recently discovered Earth, and they decided to take it over." Aiyana sighed. "They were going to destroy most of the human race, and use the remaining ones to do grunt work. I guess they were also going to experiment to see what kind of super- race they could create. The Alphas, being weak themselves, were always interested in creating super-races. Half of their advanced technology budget is spent on elixirs and experiments for that purpose."  
  
The five widened their eyes. "Are you serious?" Sailorjupiter said.  
  
"Yes," said Aiyana. "I thought they might have dropped it when I didn't return...but it seems they haven't. I had forgotten all about it, what with being absorbed with Mikomi-chan..."  
  
"And Masaya," King Endymion added teasingly.  
  
Aiyana ignored him. "That's why I say we have to get everyone important out of the palace," Aiyana said. "They are definitely coming here first."  
  
"But...what if they want to negotiate?"  
  
"The Alphans don't negotiate, King Endymion. They took over Andromeda in just that way. Their Military is highly renowned and they never start anything without finishing it."  
  
"Is there a Sailorandromeda?" Sailormercury asked curiously.  
  
"There are senshi for each of the planets in Andromeda, but so far, only Sailorcaph has manifested her power," Aiyana said, smiling. "She is also very weak - has nothing that could be compared to your powers here. She was discovered quite by accident. She was a scientist and she discovered her own sailor crystal when she was doing x-ray and special magic resources research. She then concluded that there was a senshi for each planet in Andromeda, just no one had discovered." Aiyana nodded. "But as far as we know, there is no Sailorcentauri or Sailorproximi."  
  
Jupiter and Mercury nodded.  
  
"When they come, they're going to want the palace first," Aiyana said. "They probably landed somewhere far away, but not too far. They will get here with incredible speed, no doubt. And they think they have the element of surprise. When you get here, it'd be advisable to just leave the palace to them, and figure out a way to get it back later instead of being killed for it." Aiyana's face darkened. "Because they will kill you. They sent me to do it."  
  
Endymion nodded. "We'll begin the evacuation of the palace and the immediate vicinity right now," he said. "Does anyone know a place where we can go?"  
  
"Wait just a minute. All the important offices are near here. The palace, the council building, the royal hospital...all of it is in the immediate vicinity," Mercury said. "How are we going to evacuate thousands of sick people?"  
  
"You don't have to do anything to the hospital yet," Aiyana said. "They won't touch it once they find out what it is. The Alphas are very frightened of disease, since they're more susceptible to it than we are. But the council building and definitely the palace will be of interest, as well as the archives. They'll be interested in the variety of Earthians there are to choose from and the main base of operations, since all the computers and control decks are in here."  
  
"So we'll begin the evacuation of the palace, the council buildings, the archives, and any other business-related buildings in the immediate vicinity of the palace," Endymion said. "Immediately. How much time do you think we have, Aiyana?"  
  
"Based on past experience," Aiyana said thoughtfully, "I'd say about two hours."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------- AN: When referring to the planets, I took the name from Proximi Centauri. Proximi Centauri is a real star about 4.3 light-years from Earth. I don't know how close or far they are from Andromeda, but I just used the names. 


	31. Silky Pink Hair

Chapter Thirty-One  
  
Silky Pink Hair  
  
***  
  
"Two hours?" Zoisite ran after King Endymion as the man walked through the palace to his office. "Two hours, are you crazy? There's no way we'll evacuate a six-story palace, five government buildings, and an eleven- building archive with over a million people staffing altogether in two hours. Where will they all go?"  
  
"Home," said Endymion. "And we'll find a place. Selenity, Chibi-usa and I can go to one of your houses. It should be safe there; the houses aren't too close to the palace, and I doubt the Andromedans will search the houses."  
  
"How are you going to do it?"  
  
"I'm going to connect to each of the places and make a public general announcement. Then I'm going to flood them with officers expediting the mission. We've got enough public officers in here to do that." Endymion began to draft a memorandum. "Speaking of which, Mitsuru and Ami, I want you both to assign officials to the flushing of the government buildings and three of the archive buildings. Mako and Ieyasu will get the rest of the archives, and Aiyana and I will take care of the palace. Then we'll get to...hmm...the Amesuino house is close to the hospital. She's got about ten bedrooms in that thing, too, don't you, Mitsuru?"  
  
"Something like that," Zoisite said.  
  
"Hai. We'll go there. They won't go too close to the hospital, like Aiyana said, so maybe that will be the safest. Let's see...there's seven in the Kogusunasu house, five in the Hayashino, five in the Amesuino, and four in the Koikokoro...that makes twenty-one all together. And add in my three...I mean, my *four*...that's twenty-five all together. Plus Mikomi- chan...my granddaughter. Kami-sama, I'm a grandfather." Endymion rolled his eyes. "I think we can survive, all of us at your house, right?  
  
"Poor Mikomi-chan," Sailormercury said, suddenly thoughtful. "She probably misses her mother so much. Masaya has to bottle-feed her, and while I'm sure he holds her close, bottle-feeding doesn't hold the comfort breast- feeding does."  
  
"Twenty-six people, all at one house? " Nephrite raised an eyebrow. "Rei doesn't live that far from the hospital, and she's got ten bedrooms too. Chill out, Mamoru-sama. We can separate for a little while."  
  
Endymion smiled. "I know," he said. "Maybe I just feel safer with us all together, though. And we can't travel a whole lot. I'm not sure these Andromedans know what we look like, but they might be able to detect something with all their science and technology."  
  
The four nodded.  
  
"So let's get moving."  
  
***  
  
"Aiyana, let's go." Endymion smiled at Aiyana and held the comparatively small bag he'd packed to go to the Amesuino household. "It's time to leave."  
  
"I can't go," Aiyana said. "Not yet. There's something in the palace that I have to find first. It's important if you ever want to get them out of here."  
  
Endymion raised an eyebrow quizzically.  
  
"Hotaru hid her transformation wand inside the palace in the room she was staying in before she moved," Aiyana explained. "Do you know where it was?"  
  
"Of course," said Endymion. "It's on the third floor, in the north wing, not too far from our bedroom. It was decorated in all lavender, the way she wanted it, and it hasn't been changed since then. Usa's taken a liking to it and wanted us to keep it the same." Endymion smiled. "They were about the same age until Hotaru aged to fight with us. They were best friends."  
  
Aiyana nodded. "Thanks for the directions. I'll be out of here as soon as I find that wand."  
  
Endymion sighed unhappily. "Be careful," he said. "If you feel them coming, or it takes longer than ten minutes, just get out. You can always get it later."  
  
"No, I can't. How are you supposed to get the Andromedans out of the palace without the Sailor Senshi?" Aiyana asked.  
  
"Hotaru is Sailorsaturn, not you," said King Endymion.  
  
Aiyana shook her head, but didn't say anything. The king's eyes widened.  
  
"A rebirth," he said, understanding. "The timeline was upset."  
  
Neo-Queen Selenity chose that moment to walk in. "Are you ready to leave, Endymion?" she asked. Then her eyes fell on Aiyana.  
  
The two stared at each other for a long while. Then, Queen Selenity said, "Are you the one who warned us about the approaching enemy?"  
  
"Hai, your majesty," Aiyana said respectfully.  
  
Neo-Queen Selenity slowly bowed to Aiyana. "Thank you," she said. Then she turned to Endymion, giving the man a quizzical look. He was watching the exchange with growing happiness that his wife and his daughter had a mutual respect.  
  
"Selenity," he said, "I have something to tell you on the way to Ami's house."  
  
***  
  
Aiyana stood at the doorway of the lavender room. This was definitely Hotaru's old room, and it was beautiful. Purple was her favorite color, as was her mother's, obviously. The room was decorated with many lamps, giving a soft, mystifying glow to the room.  
  
Aiyana smiled, and her hand involuntarily went to the small amethyst pendant around her neck. She often fiddled with it when she felt disturbed, but right now, she was fiddling because she felt content, staring upon the room her mother had once stayed in when she was young, alone, and pregnant. She wondered if Mikomi would ever have that feeling, looking in on the hospital room where Aiyana had spent six months of her life.  
  
"No standing around," she said. "I have to get out of here, and quickly."  
  
She stepped forwards and looked for the large black bureau that her mother had described. It was pushed against the wall, next to the bed. Aiyana crouched in front of it and, setting her sword down besides her, counted five drawers from the top of the middle drawer bank and one drawer to the left. She then took out the two adjacent drawers and reached back into the hollow space.  
  
Sure enough, there was a cut in the bottom of the bureau, deep enough to put a small jewelry box inside. Aiyana felt the wooden box with her fingers and pulled it up out of the hollow and through the place where the drawers had been.  
  
The box was beautiful as well, antique. It was painted black with figures in kimono of different shades of pink and purple walking to and fro on it. Aiyana smiled as she opened the box. It had a lot of things in it, things Hotaru had told her were now hers.  
  
Aiyana sifted through them with her fingers. A pretty necklace with a coral pink rose pendant at the end...it would go nicely with that pink sundress that Ami had bought her the day she went shopping. There were a few assorted rings, some nicer than others. She had several expensive jeweled headbands and barettes, and there were a few more necklaces. Very beautiful jewelry.  
  
As an afterthought, Aiyana reached into the jewelry box and pulled out a pair of hair combs. *No time for vanity!* her mind screamed, but she couldn't help but clip them in her hair and look in the mirror above the bureau. She had on a short blue skirt with a small amount of violet in it, matched with a black mock-turtleneck top, and the clips had sapphire stones in them, nicely matching the royal blue of the skirt and bringing out the blue in her eyes. She smiled at her reflection.  
  
Sitting back down in front of the jewelry box, Aiyana reached back inside and picked out a small rod with a small sheet of white paper wrapped around it. She unwrapped the rod. There was a small purple crystal on the top with a golden sign carved in the top, and she realized it was the alchemial sign for Saturn. Underneath it was a small purple watch with a golden wristband, also designed with the sign of Saturn.  
  
The transformation pen and wrist communicator.  
  
Aiyana smiled briefly and then lifted the jewelry box, placing it back in it's place in the hollow of the bureau. She would be back for it as soon as she could take it, but she didn't know whether she would be able to run if she had to with it in her hands.  
  
Quickly Aiyana rose and started outside the room, clutching the wand close and strapping the slim watch to her arm. She ran down the hall, rounded the way, and flew down the staircase. But her eyes happened to catch the activity in the main hall right in front of the doors to the palace, and she quickly caught the banister and pulled herself back up the staircase, praying she hadn't been seen.  
  
The Andromedan force had already arrived.  
  
She dared not peer down around the banister again, but she could hear the conversation of the officers.  
  
"Funny how the palace was just left empty when we arrived," she heard a voice say, and froze upon recognition. That was Second Delta Tenkami! He was probably acting as First Delta right now, being the most familiar with the palace and the Earth's terrain. "I wonder where the crowd went?"  
  
"They probably scattered after the king and queen were killed," said another voice, and Aiyana recognized that as Delta Reizei. He was a particularly purer Centurian, the only mostly Centurian Delta. He had a reptlian tongue to go along with his Centurian look, and his words were a little slurred. "After all, that is what Delta Khalidah was sent here to do, isn't it?"  
  
"I'm surprised she went through with it," Aiyana heard Delta Tenkami say. "She was always a little squeamish when it came to the necessary things."  
  
Aiyana felt her fist clenching.  
  
She heard Delta Tenkami laugh. It was a short chuckle, one she heard him give often when playing with the other men, and it had never failed to alight butterflies in her stomach. Now, it made a shiver run up her spine.  
  
"Let's see," she heard Delta Tenkami say. "This place is absolutely beautiful. My, my. It's all made of crystal, every last piece of it. Shigenoi, Ashikaga, you see if you can find the quarters for everyone. I want the king and queen's bedroom myself, if you please." She could almost hear him grinning widely, and she knew that goofy grin of triumph was on his face. "The rest of you...hmm. Find the mainframe computers and..."  
  
Suddenly he paused. "What is that smell?"  
  
"What smell?"  
  
"Smells...like..." He sniffed again. "Roses."  
  
*Oh, great.* Aiyana had completely forgotten that the elixir had worn off and her smell was back. It was something that Delta Tenkami had always liked about her. She knew that because of the way he always talked about it, whether he was annoyed by it when he was angry or complimenting it during one of his rare nice streaks. She moved slowly, trying to climb back up the stairs. Perhaps there was another way out.  
  
"The way these people are?" Delta Shigenoi scoffed. "They probably perfumed their palace to make it all the more beautiful.  
  
"No...that's a much more personal fragrance." He knew. Aiyana cursed under her breath and quickened her pace up the palace stairwell. She reached the top and turned left down the hallway, running up the other one to get to the third floor. She could use the bedroom window and some sheets like she had seen rebellious girls do in the few movies she had seen in her life.  
  
She threw open the door to a large pink bedroom on the third floor. Immediately, there was an indignant shriek, and Aiyana found herself face to face with a person that could only be her younger half-sister, Princess Lady Selenity. She looked so strikingly like Neo-Queen Selenity that it was impossible to mistake her for anyone else. Her silky pink hair was tied into two long ponytails that flowed underneath two cone-shaped projections of hair, and she had large crimson eyes that indicated her younger age.  
  
"Oh my goodness, what are you doing here? Get out of here! Wait a minute. Are you that assassin? Get out of here! Don't hurt me, please!"  
  
Aiyana dashed forwards, wrestled the girl down, and placed a hand over her mouth. "Shut up, shut up," she said. "I'm really sorry to do this this way, Princess Lady Selenity-sama. But listen to me. I am not going to kill you and you have to be quiet, you hear? Or I will!" She brandished her sword menacingly.  
  
Lady Selenity's eyes widened, and she tried to scream again.  
  
"*Please* shut up," she said. She left Lady Selenity on the floor, went to the door, and closed and locked it. Then she ran back to Lady Selenity before she could open her mouth. "There are people downstairs who want to take over your planet. They are in the process of taking your palace. Unless you want us both to get killed, I suggest you shut your mouth."  
  
"Why should I believe you? Why should I want you to live? You tried to kill my parents!"  
  
"That was quite a while ago. I haven't tried again since then."  
  
"Who's to say you won't?"  
  
"If I would, I wouldn't be hiding right now, I'd be dragging you to the people downstairs," she said. "Why didn't you leave with your parents?"  
  
"They left already?" Lady Selenity said. "Oh, no! Great. I got all dressed for nothing." She gestured to the ensemble she wore, a cute yellow sundress with matching sandals. She looked back at Aiyana. "Izumi-chan was right. You are very pretty, for an assassin."  
  
"Thank you," Aiyana said automatically. "Listen, lower your voice. They're going to hear you."  
  
"Hear me? Who?"  
  
"Don't you know why your parents were taking you to the Amesuinos?"  
  
"No. They just said it was really important."  
  
"The people from my planet are trying to take over your world," Aiyana answered. "You have to go to Ami's to be safe from them. Otherwise they might kill you! We have to get out of your room. Does your window open?"  
  
"Of course it does."  
  
"Help me tie your sheets together, then." There was a short ping at the window.  
  
"Stay down."  
  
"Why should I believe you?" Lady Selenity pouted, crossing her arms. "How do I know you're not lying to lure me out anyway?"  
  
"Two reasons. One, if I wanted to take you downstairs to those people, all I would have had to do was heft you over my shoulder and drag you out screaming. You can't match me in fighting, and I'd knock you out in five minutes. Two, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already."  
  
Lady Selenity clamped her mouth shut.  
  
"I'm trying to help you," Aiyana continued, and strolled to the window. Beneath it was a frantic King Endymion. She opened the window.  
  
"What the hell are you still doing in the palace? Is Usa in there?" he said.  
  
"The Andromedans came a little earlier than expected, and yes, the princess is in here," she said. "Sullen and pouty, but still here."  
  
"Usa!" Endymion called.  
  
Lady Selenity ran to the window. "Daddy!" she said. "Daddy, she's in my room!"  
  
"I know," said Endymion. "It's okay. You can trust her." He did not go on to explain how she could trust her, and Aiyana believed it was wisest to let Lady Selenity believe she was Endymion's only daughter for now. "Please, trust her and listen to her, Usa. She knows more about these people than any of us do, and she is not going to hurt you."  
  
Usa shot a glance at Aiyana, then looked back at their father. "Daddy, what should we do?"  
  
"King Endymion, go away," said Aiyana. "You're being too loud, you're going to attract attention. Usa and I will be out in a minute. Get to the Amesuinos' house; the Andromedans are here! It's too dangerous for you to be, too! I'll keep Usa safe, don't worry."  
  
King Endymion nodded. "I trust you, Aiyana," he said, softly, but Aiyana heard him. He ran away presumably to where there were more of the warriors of old hiding out.  
  
"Princess Lady Selenity-sama," said Aiyana, knowing that Usa was reveling in being addressed like a princess, "do you have a transformation wand of some sort to turn you into Sailormoon?"  
  
"I'm not Sailormoon yet," said Usa unhappily. "I still have training to go through. But I don't transform with a wand, I transform with the ginzuishou. That's what Mother used when she was younger. Why did you ask me that?"  
  
"Where's the ginzuishou?"  
  
"Either Mama took it with her, or she left it in the palace in the special crystal room," Usa answered. "She doesn't like to handle it too much. It leaves a protective ward around Crystal Tokyo, and any movement of it will weaken the ward for a period of time."  
  
*She probably left it,* Aiyana thought. *If there's any time Crystal Tokyo needs protection, it's now.* "Just asking," she said. "You may need it, but we can't get it now. Maybe later. Right now, we have to get out of here. Tie some of your sheets together so they'll be long enough to extend almost to the ground, and we can climb out of the window."  
  
Usa nodded and went to her bed. "Here," she said. "You take two, I'll take two. We'll tie two together, then we'll tie our strands together."  
  
"How many sheets do you *have* on that bed?" Aiyana asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Hey," Usa said, grinning, "a princess has got to sleep in comfort."  
  
Aiyana rolled her eyes and tied them together, then tied Usa's end to the bed. She through the other end out of the window. The sheets extended right over the top of the first-story window."  
  
"No time to tie more," said Aiyana. "We have to jump from the end. You go first."  
  
"Okay," said Usa. She grabbed onto the end of the sheets and began to step out of the window.  
  
Suddenly, there was a loud bang behind the two girls. Both of them jumped, and Usa was so startled she fell backwards, out of the window. She frantically grabbed for the sheet, but she could grab it. She was falling, falling towards the ground below her, three stories down.  
  
The Andromedans had opened the door to Usa's room, and they were coming in. Delta Hojo was coming towards Aiyana to capture her, Delta Reizei flanking him. And standing in the doorway, smiling triumphantly, was Delta Tenkami himself.  
  
"I've finally got you, you slippery little eel." 


	32. There Wasn't Enough

Chapter Thirty-Two - There Wasn't Enough  
  
***  
  
"Usa!" Aiyana forgot her manners; she didn't even give a second look towards the Deltas encroaching upon her. She ran towards the window and flung herself through it, groping through the air towards any part of Princess Lady Serenity she could grab.  
  
She did catch one of the pink-haired princess's arms. Usa shrieked in pain as Aiyana jerked on it - hard - to maintain control of the girl's body. And then she shrieked herself. One of the Deltas had roughly caught her ankle and was holding her as if she were a piece of paper.  
  
"Shall I let her go, my prince?"  
  
Aiyana's eyes widened. ~Prince?~  
  
"Aw, Reizei, you spoiled the surprise," said Delta Tenkami - Prince Tamashiiro - in a teasing voice. "I wish I could have seen her face when she heard that. She always did have a cute shocked look." The voice was moving closer as Prince Tamashiiro covered ground and came towards the window.  
  
"Should I drop them both?"  
  
"Why would you want to do something so stupid?" Prince Tamashiiro asked. "They both may prove useful to me. Reel them in."  
  
Reizei shrugged. Delta Hojo took hold of Aiyana's other ankle, and together, the two of them pulled in Aiyana and Usa, who fell inside the window with a loud *thud*.  
  
Prince Tamashiiro's eyes quickly gazed over Lady Serenity, and he nodded slightly. Then he turned his full attention to Aiyana, assessing her carefully, eyes sliding over her figure so salaciously it made her squirm. He then brought his eyes back to hers.  
  
It hurt to look in them. They were so close to her daughter's...  
  
"Lock the pink one up in the room. She's got something to do with the royalty here, I know it." Tamashiiro had never taken his eyes from Aiyana. "Make sure she doesn't get out of here. As for Aiyana...well, she can just follow me. I have plans for her, too."  
  
***  
  
"Father," Prince Tamashiiro said, bowing politely to the emperor. Emperor Omega had situated himself in the king and queen's casual throne room - not to be confused with the formal throne room - and was reclining quite comfortably in the throne that King Endymion himself often sat. He nodded to his adopted son as he appeared in front of him.  
  
"Tamashiiro. What's your report?"  
  
"I've found a little pink-haired girl in the palace," Tamashiiro said, smirking as he concealed his next bit of news from the emperor. He knew that Emperor Omega would be much happier to hear that the assassin had been found. "She's presumbly the princess, and may have been trying to escape when we arrived. And guess who was helping her?"  
  
Emperor Omega stared curiously at his son. "I don't care for guessing games."  
  
"First Delta Khalidah."  
  
The emperor's eyes widened. "You're not serious."  
  
"As a dead man, Father," Tamashiiro said.  
  
Emperor Omega sat his chin in his hands, stroking the features. "Perhaps she was trying to apprehend her instead," he said. "But I don't understand. We sent her here seven months ago to eradicate all traces of the royal family." He looked back up at Tamashiiro. "Is the royal couple still present in the palace?"  
  
Tamashiiro squirmed. That was the only piece of evidence that didn't correlate with his suspicions of Aiyana's dissension. "No, sir," he said stiffly. "They're nowhere to be found, and there's no traces of them."  
  
Emperor Omega seemed to brighten a bit as he contemplated this. "Maybe there's - no, there's probably a viable explanation for the existence of the princess," he said hopefully.  
  
"Would you like for me to interrogate her?"  
  
"Debrief is more the word I'm looking for," Omega answered, regarding his son warily. "She's the head of the military, the highest-ranking officer on this mission save you and I. Treat her with the same respect that you have in the past and the same respect - righfully more - than you would treat Hojo or Reizei."  
  
Tamashiiro nodded, not a little unhappy.  
  
***  
  
"Where are they?"  
  
Aiyana kept her eyes averted from Tamashiiro's. He'd brought her into the king and queen's bedroom - perhaps to mess with her mind a little more. He'd remarked himself about how hard killing was to her, and being in any bedroom with him made her more than a little uneasy. Her insides were screaming at her to bolt, but she just couldn't do it...she would look like a coward, and worse, a traitor.  
  
"They're dead."  
  
"The king and queen? I don't believe you. You're bluffing." Tamashiiro sat down directly in front of Aiyana and tried to force her to look at him. She turned away.  
  
"So why did you jump out of that window to save the princess?"  
  
"You need some way to lay claim to the throne, don't you?" Now Aiyana did look at Tamashiiro, but she kept her eyes carefully beneath his, right on the bridge of his nose. That was a trick she had learned long ago to make it look as if one were staring into another's eyes. "Princess Lady Serenity - that's her name here - Serenity would be a perfectly legal way for you to obtain the throne."  
  
As she said it, Aiyana realized that Serenity wouldn't actually be the solution -- *she* would. Prince Tamashiiro would gain nothing by controlling Princess Lady Serenity, because she was not the heir to the throne. Aiyana herself was.  
  
~Tamashiiro-san must never find that out,~ Aiyana swore to herself.  
  
Prince Tamashiiro studied Aiyana carefully and stroked his chin. "True. Gaining control over Princess Lady Serenity would be much easier than taking the kingdom by force." His contemplative expression changed to a sly one. "But I don't want the pink one. I want you."  
  
Aiyana turned away from him.  
  
"You've definitely changed since being here on Earth," he said. "Much more spunk in you. Before you left, you were quieter than a mouse. What accounts for the grand transformation?" Tamashiiro eyed her again. "Where have you been all this time?"  
  
"In hiding," Aiyana said quickly. He mustn't find out that she had been pregnant and given birth to his child. There was no telling what Tamashiiro would do upon finding that out! "I've been in hiding. In the ship."  
  
"There wasn't enough food in that stock ship to feed you for seven Earth months."  
  
"I obtained food otherwise." She eyed Tamashiiro in a way that said she was not going to expound on it. He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.  
  
"So they're really dead." It wasn't a question. Prince Tamashiiro rose from the king and queen's bed and stared out of the port window. "That's very good. I didn't expect you to go through with it. That's precisely why I left you here. I wanted you to fail so that I could get your position." He chuckled. "Turns out I didn't even need you to fail. I just needed you to be away."  
  
Aiyana glared at his back. "Speaking of position, how did you come about being the Second Omega, prince of the Omega Star Empire?" Her tone changed to a sarcastic one. "The emperor discovered you as his long-lost son?"  
  
"Actually, no. None of his wives were producing any children. Emperor Baran is getting up in age, you know. So he adopted me as his son and the heir to the throne."  
  
Aiyana frowned a little at the informal way Tamashiiro addressed the emperor...Emperor Baran was only what his family members used in respect. Everyone else addressed him as Emperor Omega, or "his majesty" and other titles as such.  
  
"And all you did while you were here was kill the king and queen?" Tamashiiro continued. "You didn't disable the mainframe as you were instructed?"  
  
"No." Aiyana stared back at him. "The mainframe...was heavily guarded..."  
  
"Bullshit!" Tamashiiro crowed. "Even I have to admit that you have exceptional infiltration skills. Our empire is light-years ahead of this primitive rock, and you've crashed expensive mainframes back in Andromeda! That's not the reason, Aiyana, think of another lie to tell."  
  
"I'm not lying," Aiyana said murderously, her eyes flashing that violent violet. Tamashiiro's own eyes widened...he'd never seen such an expression on her lovely face before.  
  
"They have other means of protection. Magical means. They were hard to break. I broke through the magic, but their guards came in and caught me." She took a deep breath before she continued with her outrageous fabrication. "I got out before they closed in on me, but I wasn't able to crash the computer system completely. They've been searching for me for the last seven Earth months."  
  
"So what were you doing in the palace when we came, then?"  
  
"I came back to finish the job," Aiyana said simply, as if it should be obvious. "On my return I realized that there was a member of the royal family I'd neglected to exterminate. I was going to get her first, then destroy the mainframe." She shrugged. "And you came."  
  
Tamashiiro sat back. It was clear he wasn't satisfied with her story, but it was the best she could come up with at the time.  
  
"So," he said, "I suppose I should do a recall on the acting status of the other Deltas. They all go back to their normal numbers, and the Acting Seventh becomes First Epsilon once again. The only two ranks that were affected were the Epsilon and the Delta, so..." He shrugged, then gave Aiyana a small almost-smile. "Welcome back, First Delta."  
  
***  
  
"Endymion," Serenity whispered softly, stroking her husband's arm, "why didn't you just tell me? I wouldn't have been angry. I would have understood. That was a really hard period in all of our lives."  
  
"I...it wasn't just the fact that it happened, Serenity," he said. "Usa can't inherit the throne now, do you realize that? She can't inherit the throne. Aiyana is my firstborn. She's destined to be queen!"  
  
"That doesn't matter!" Serenity said to him, sharply. "All that matters is the truth. And we all wanted to know the truth."  
  
The king and queen were at the Kogusunasu house, along with the Kogusunasu and Koikokoro families. They had decided to go there because it was close to the hospital, but not too close to the palace so as to put the monarchs in danger. The Amesuino and Hayashino families were at the Amesuino house, which was much closer to the hospital and the palace.  
  
However, the Senshi of that household were elsewhere. They were busy doing the evacuation, leaving all the young children of the two families in the care of Hayashino Teruo and Megami and Amesuino Izumi. And of course, Aiyana and Chibi-usa were still in the palace...although King Endymion didn't know that.  
  
"That story...is incredible," Minako breathed, staring in awe at the king. She then turned to look at the child, Mikomi. Masaya was bottle-feeding her in his arms, while silently listening to the king's story. He had been the only one of the Senshi's children allowed to hear it, being the oldest and the most connected.  
  
"Aiyana is in danger now," he said gravely, the first thing he had said since Endymion had begun the story. "If this man from Andromeda finds out that she's the royal heir to the throne...things might not turn out so well for her."  
  
"Why would that make a difference, though?" Minako asked.  
  
"Because," said Sadayoshi. He was home from the hospital, having been bandaged and splinted very quickly, and the Senshi wanted him to be in one of the houses with the rest of them. Minako fussed over him a lot, and as much as he pretended to fend her off, he was enjoying the extra attention his wife was paying him. "This prince wants to take over Crystal Tokyo and the Earth. If he gains control over the heir to the throne, not only can he puppet the king and queen -" Sadayoshi turned to face the two monarchs, but they said nothing. It was obviously true. "-but he can also marry her and claim the throne legally."  
  
"Why in the world would he want to do that?" asked Masaya, a little anxious at that statement.  
  
Sadayoshi smiled faintly at his son's anxiety. "This prince obviously wants a clean revolution," he said. "Remember how he hadn't wanted to shoot us on the ship? He blasted our missile and warned us not to shoot again, because he didn't want to hit us. I'm thinking that he doesn't really want a large war between the planets. He wants to take us as cleanly as possible."  
  
"I know that he can't possibly think we're going to give this planet up without a fight," Sanetoki said, clenching his fists. He had been deathly pale earlier, worried about his wife, and now he was filled with anger at the thought of this intruder thinking he could just take their planet. "There's no way. The Sailor Senshi - Earthians period - won't give up without a fight."  
  
"To fight our enemy, we have to know our enemy," said Minako. She had been staring distraitly at the wall opposite her, but now she focused her eyes on Sanetoki. "You remember how when we fought Beryl all the way through Galaxia - we were never able to triumph until we knew something about our enemy. We must find information about this enemy..." She looked to King Endymion.  
  
"The Omega Star Empire," he said softly.  
  
"The only one who knows anything would be...Aiyana-san," said Sadayoshi, sitting up straighter. "Where is she?"  
  
King Endymion could only shake his head, obviously worried. "I don't know. I wish I did...she's taking awfully long to get here."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------  
  
AN: Sorry this was so long in coming. I had a serious case of writer's block. I still have it for the most part...I'll be thinking on it, though, so don't worry. I *think* I know a way to bust it. 


	33. The Third Piece of the Puzzle

Chapter Thirty-Three - The Third Piece of the Puzzle  
  
***  
  
"Tamashiiro..."  
  
Prince Tamashiiro already knew this was going to be a bad day. He had woken up with a splitting headache - the royal guest room he occupied was comfortable enough, but being in this strange new place with all its responsibilities was unnerving.  
  
What was even more unnerving was that Delta Aiyana's bedroom - the pretty lavender one - was just two doors down the hallway, on the other side. The seven Delta and he were all staying in that guest wing, and she had immediately chosen that room. Her being the only female Delta, they allowed her to have it, choosing rooms that were decorated in darker, more masculine hues.  
  
At this point, however, he wasn't in the bedroom that had become his. He was in the "casual" throne room towards the back of the first floor of the palace, as opposed to the formal throne room towards the front of the palace. The formal throne room was a wide, spacious, magnificent room, much like a sitting room or a parlor - it was lined with many smaller thrones and then the two ornate thrones of the king and queen thtemselves. There was a lectern for speeches and space for extra seats to be set up.  
  
The prince had spent quite a bit of time exploring the palace, as he liked to acquaint himself with new and unfamiliar places. The palace was six stories high, made entirely from a white crystal substance Aiyana described as quartz. She had done quite a bit of studing for this mission at a university on Centauri, and Tamashiiro was almost sorry he had missed out on studying this primitive but magnificent planet - he always skirted around academic work on partnered missions.  
  
The first story of the palave was devoted almost entirely to major public rooms of the palace. The two throne rooms were located there, as well as the huge ballroom and slightly smaller formal dining room. Then there was an informal dining room and a colossal kitchen, complete with four refigeration closets and six room-temperature storage pantries. The palace was like a ghost town - the whole staff had vanished, probably alerted by the sky patrols of their proximity. It was no matter, though, because the emperor had ordered another envoy deployed with enough staff to attend to their every need. At the moment the kitchen maids and chefs were probably working on their lunch.  
  
On the second floor were several parlors and sitting rooms - large rooms, but smaller than most of the rooms on the first floor, and filled with elegant furnishings and beautiful paintings. There was also a huge library on the second floor, large enough to do massive research projects. It seemed almost like a public student library, because there were several computers in the room. The library contained everything from ancient poetry to yesterday's edition of the Crystal Tokyo newspaper.  
  
The third floor held the bedrooms of the royal family and many, many guest rooms, divided into several wings. The wing the prince, the Delta, and the emperor were staying in was obviously where the royal family slept and also where they held their most honored guests. There seemed to be a room in every motif - Aiyana, of course, had the lavender/purple room; Delta Reizei occupied a room done in red; Delta Shigenoi was staying in a verdant room; the seventh Delta had selected a room in bright blue; and Prince Tamashiiro himself was staying in an aqua-colored room. It was also obvious that the rooms were designed for females, or at least married couples. There were feminine touches all over - and they were personal touches. These were permanent guest rooms.  
  
Over in another wing was where the Epsilon, the lower-ranking members of the military, were staying, as well as the Eta pilots and the Lambda doctor. There were twenty-two Epsilon and six Eta on this mission, which was just enough for them to sleep two to a room save the First Eta, First Epsilon, and the Lambda doctor, each of which got a single room. Those rooms were for the less privileged guests of the palace, no doubt. The Zeta scientists they had brought to engineer the Psi and work on the computer systems of Earth - Earth geologists to assess the resources, geneticists to work on the Psi and research the humans' makeup, engineers to keep the ships working properly, so on and so forth - stayed in a third wing. There was also a servant wing, large with smaller roms, where the staff brought on the mission was kept.  
  
They were a task force.  
  
The fourth and fifth floors were of little consequence - offices, functional rooms, small libraries divided by subject - but the sixth floor was massive...it was where they mainframe computer of Crystal Tokyo was kept. The large computer system spanned four huge rooms, and there were also three smaller laboratories where scientists and other technicians obviously worked. The scientists the Alpha force had brought along worked there during the day, running tests on the Earth's soil and the atmosphere and the Psi...  
  
The Delta had jobs to do as well. The Delta were researches as well as assassins and spies, and they were required to do a certain amount of research per every mission they were sent on. They now reassumed that role - they were to peruse the vast libraries and archives to which Aiyana had led them in order to put together the story of Earth and prepare a general report of Earthian scientific, technological, and medical advances. They were diligent in their work, each devoting at least two hours a day, sometimes more. Aiyana seemed the most absorbed, but then again, she was always the strongest in the research department for any missions the Delta went on.  
  
"Yes, Father?" Tamashiiro answered. Once again, he had that ominous no- good-very-bad day feeling, just from the mischievous tone of his adoptive father's voice.  
  
"Have you debriefed Delta Khalidah yet?" he asked  
  
Tamashiiro groaned. Emperor Omega knew very well that Tamashiiro had already debriefed Delta Khalidah; he'd asked him three times yesterday and six times the day before that. The emperor simply used that query as a tool to segue into a conversation about one of two things - his role in their mission, or his relationship with the pretty young Delta. Tamashiiro suspected it was the latter this time.  
  
"Of course, Father. I also gave you a detailed description of what she told me."  
  
"Of course you did." The emperor was tuning up to attempt a joke; Tamashiiro could feel it coming on. "Did you happen to find out where she obtained the short skirt and pretty sweater?"  
  
Tamashiiro couldn't help but burst into laughter at the emperor's hopeless humor. The emperor grinned. "Seriously, now. You should consider courting her while you are here."  
  
The laughter came to an abrupt stop. "What?!"  
  
"You heard me." The emperor shited in his throne. "How old are you?"  
  
"Twenty."  
  
"Twenty." The emperor stroked his chin. "That's old enough to be married. I'm up in years, my son. I'd like to see you settled and married before I pass on."  
  
The prince was saved from replying by the entrance of two burly Psi warriors, holding Princess Lady Serenity bas delicately as possible between their arms. It was a comical scene - she was kicking and fighting and getting absolutely nowhere.  
  
The Psi warriors were the Zeta scientists' special projects. They were genetically engineered blends of Andromedan and Alphan DNA, parts that were common to a great deal of the population of the Omega Star Empire. However, what made the Psi different and gave them their Titan-like power were the scraps of foreign DNA the Zeta had meticulously scrapped and saved from hundreds of different species of sentient creatures all over the galaxy - military prisoners, extinct subjects of the empire, to name only two of the many situations and varieties. Tamashiiro knew for a fact that at least three of the thirty-two Psi warriors brought on the mission had slips of Delta Khalidah's DNA in them, and were consequently smaller yet faster than the rest of the Psi.  
  
They were super-warriors, blends of technology and magic. The Zeta were delighted with them and were always working to find new ways to make them even stronger than they already were. They were nearly indestructible by all physical means, but the discovery of the only Sailor Senshi known to the Andromedans - Sailorcaph - opened up new possibilities. The Zeta went farther, testing sentient species for magic, abducting Senshi of several other galaxies to experiment with their power.  
  
They devised ways to detect magic on other planets...  
  
***  
  
"So, you plan on experimenting with the prowess of the Earthian races to boost the Psi's power?"  
  
"Not just the Psi," the Nineteenth Zeta said enthusiastically. Aiyana had sidetracked the young scientist into a conversation by complimenting him on his scientific advances while twirling a lock of violet hair around her finger. In no time at all she had him gushing gratuitously about the Zeta's plans and aspirations - aspirations that were supposed to be top- secret, but were perfectly all right to tell Aiyana, since she was the head of the military anyway...right?  
  
"We also plan on blending the mutated - or rather, altered. Mutated is such a negative word, isn't it? I prefer altered, don't you?"  
  
"Definitely," Aiyana said, leaning forward and propping up her head with her hands and her breasts with the lab table. The Zeta was almost panting. Sometimes it was useful to be one of the few females in the military.  
  
She was one of eight women on this mission, five of the other Epsilon and the final two Zeta scientists. The one was a geologist that had next to no contact with the genetic engineers; the last, who did happen to be a genetic engineer, was about twenty years older than the Nineteenth Zeta - who looked like he could be much older than Aiyana, perhaps even younger than the prince.  
  
"Yes, altered is a better word. In any event, we plan on blending the altered DNA with every Alphan - therefore creating a super-race, if you will. The Earthian body structure is mcuh stronger than both the Andromedan and Alphan body structure - I'm a mix myself. What are you?"  
  
"Andromedan."  
  
"Yes, you appear to be almost wholly Andromedan. Except your eyes - they are very bright. Andromedans usually have dull-colored eyes. And your figure is too...lush, shall we say? For an Andromedan woman, I mean." He laughed, as if what he had to say next was absurd. "One could almost say you were an Earthian test subject."  
  
It took all the restraint Aiyana had not to jump to her feet. This was something new! "Earthian test subjects?" she asked casually.  
  
"Yes, the Zeta were experimenting with humans quite a while ago."  
  
"How long ago?"  
  
"I don't remember all the details...we didn't study that too much in university, and I was still in university when they mentioned the test subjects...let's see if I can convert. For the sake of science, although I believe our calendar is much more efficient. Why have some ikkagetsu - excuse me, months - with more days than others? It doesn't make much sense to me."  
  
"Me either." She gave him a strained smile. "How long ago?"  
  
"Let me think. Point seven two...multiply...hmm, I'd say it was a little more than five Earthian years ago."  
  
The third piece of the puzzle.  
  
***  
  
"Take her on a walk around the palace or something," the emperor encouraged. "I've heard that this palace's courtyards were modeled after the White Moon Kingdom's. Were you told that legend as a boy?"  
  
"Yes." The White Moon was a legend every Andromedan had grown up with. It was very likely that every child in the universe had grown up with stories about the White Moon, or at least in the galaxies adjacent to the Milky Way. It almost seemed as if the legend could be true now, because there was a white moon in the skies of the Earth. The Zeta had plans to explore it.  
  
"Yes, you've heard it, or yes, you'll engage Delta Khalidah-"  
  
"Father, leave me alone about Delta Khalidah!"  
  
"Don't get all worked up with me," he said. "You can't very well be serious about this little pink-haired devil's spawn, can you?" he added in a low voice, turning to the two Psi in front of him. "What has she done now?"  
  
"She's the princess," Tamashiiro said. "She'd give legal sanction to rule this planet. Besides, the Zeta want her for something - they say she's got magical powers."  
  
"Caught trying to escape again," one of the Psi said in a low, mechanical voice, completely ignoring Prince Tamashiiro. "Somehow she broke the seal that the Delta put on the door."  
  
"She does seem to have some sort of magical power."  
  
"Would you prefer for us to seal her back up?"  
  
"Get that Caphian scientist - you know, the one with the magic? - to do it," said Tamashiiro. "Which one of you blockheads is going to go retrieve her?"  
  
"I will."  
  
First Delta Khalidah slink into view, advancing towards Princess Lady Serenity. She had changed from the short skirt and fluffy sweater into the black and grey uniform of the Delta. She bowed to the emperor deeply, then swung her line of vision to Tamashiiro. Stiffening, she executed another bow to the prince - deeply, the ones reserved for the royalty, rather than the customary bows comrades executed. As soon as she turned her back, the emperor elbowed his son in the side.  
  
Ouch, he mouthed fiercely, glaring at his adoptive father.  
  
"Hand me the girl, please, Psi," Aiyana said, holding out a hand. Watching the eight-and-a-half-feet Psi acquiesce to the five-foot-seven female Delta was hilarious, but they solemnly set Princess Lady Serenity on her feet in front of Aiyana, who grabbed hold of her wrist and yanked her off towards the stairwell. The Psi followed her.  
  
Once at the stairwell, Serenity protested stridently. "I thought you were supposed to be on *my* side!"  
  
"*Shhh!!*" Aiyana exclaimed in a whisper. "Would you like the whole palace to know? Because none of them are on *our* side!"  
  
Usa snapped her mouth shut.  
  
Aiyana yanked the princess closer to her. "I'm going to find a way to get you out of here. Give me some time. In the meantime, stop trying to escape. Eventually they'll get tired of it and kill you," she whispered quickly.  
  
They had climbed the stairs, were in front of Usa's room in minutes, the Psi close on their tails.  
  
"Why should I trust you?" Usa exclaimed loudly. "Why should I believe-"  
  
"Shut up!" Aiyana yelled, lightly slapping the princess on her cheek. It was an accident - she hadn't meant to - but she couldn't stand the girl's screaming, which would have eventually given them both away. Usa recoiled, shocked.  
  
"That's it!" she screamed. "I don't care what my father said, I'm not-"  
  
"That's all I'll need of you," Aiyana said quickly to the Psi, shoving Usa into her bedroom. "Please return to your posts."  
  
The Psi shrugged and followed orders. 


	34. That Tiny Thing?

**That Tiny Thing?**  
  
***  
  
Aiyana violently shoved Usa into her bedrooom, slamming and locking the door behind her. The minute the door was closed, Usa went into it.  
  
"I'm not trusting you!" she yelled at Aiyana. "You've been cavorting through the palace with all those people, just as allied as you please! And then you try and tell me that you're on my side? No, I don't believe it! I don't trust you at all. I don't know why my father does; he _never_ trusts anyone that easily."  
  
Lady Serenity narrowed her eyes. "Why _does_ my dad want to trust you so much?"  
  
Aiyana shook her head. "I helped him. I told your parents that the Omega were coming. I gave them time to prepare, evaluate, evacuate."  
  
"No," Lady Serenity said, cocking her head to the side. "That's not why. There's something else."  
  
"What makes you think so?" Aiyana asked, trying to keep her voice as level as possible. Her heart was pounding. She really didn't want to tell Usa that she was her father's daughter...if the girl even believed her - which wasn't likely - then she would be either enraged or depressed, both dangerous ingredients to a teenage mind.  
  
"My dad isn't like my mom," she answered. "You know, when you first arrived, it was my mother who kept you alive. She told the Senshi to doctor you first, then worry about prison. Suddenly, my dad trusts you? My dad has never been so sure about any other person - except my mother." She jolted, her head straightening quickly. "Are you having an affair with my father?!"  
  
Aiyana cackled. "Stupid girl," she scoffed. "Your father is about thirty years older than me. What would he want with me? What would I want with him?" She sighed and eyed the younger girl. "If I weren't on your side, you would be dead by now. You have a big mouth and a small brain - a deadly combination."  
  
"How _dare_ you!" Usa was heavily flustered. "I've had training as a Sailor Senshi, _and_ I have magical powers - powers you don't have! I could toast you right now!"  
  
Aiyana couldn't help but chuckle at the princess's admission. If she only knew...  
  
That was about all Usa could take. She flew at Aiyana - frilly pink dress and all.  
  
The younger girl had the element of surprise and toppled Aiyana, landing a soft punch on the older girl's left cheek. She wasn't getting the other one. Aiyana's hand shot up to stay Usa's left fist, then easily pushed the smaller girl from on top of her. Usa went rolling across her plush carpet.  
  
She didn't stop. Instead, she came at Aiyana with more force. Aiyana was surprised at how quick her moves were - although they were nowhere near as fast as Aiyana or any of her colleagues', they were much faster than Aiyana expected the princess's to be. She sidestepped a high roundhouse meant for her head and caught the girl's balled-up fist, which was on the way to her eye.  
  
"Usa," she said, "you can't possibly think you can beat me."  
  
"Let me go!" the thirteen-year-old screamed. A golden crescent mon mark glowed angrily on her forehead.  
  
"We definitely don't need this at the moment! Usa, stop!"  
  
"No!" The crescent moon glowed brighter, intensifying to a blinding light. "_Let me go!_"  
  
***  
  
"Where _are_ those girls?"  
  
King Endymion paced across the Kogusunasu's kitchen, his forehead etched with worry lines. Rei was still in the hospital, under the knife at that very moment. They were releasing fluid pressure on her brain caused by the accident and sewing up a huge gash she had received in the stomach. At the moment, Minako was preparing dinner in the kitchen with Neo-Queen Serenity's help, who was dressed as an ordinary civilian. The comet-tail hairdo was a dead giveaway to her identity, but besides that, she appeared to be a normal citizen.  
  
"I..." Serenity frowned and shifted her weight at the table. "Endymion, Usa is exercising her powers."  
  
Minako and Endymion turned to look at Serenity. "You're not serious!"  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
"Where's Aiyana? Is she with her?"  
  
"I...I don't know all that. All I know is she's using her powers...I wonder what's happening." Serenity's eyes popped open wider. "What if she's hurt? What if they're torturing her?"  
  
"Oh, no." Endymion groaned softly. "Usa...Keiko..."  
  
***  
  
"What the..." the empror turned his eyes towards the ceiling. "What is that dangblasted girl _doing?_"  
  
"Girl?"  
  
"It's obviously Princess Lady Serenity," said the empror, shaking his head. "She tried that bit earlier to throw against the door. Her magic is weak."  
  
"At will," Delta Hojo added. "When she throws it spontaneously, it's stronger...driven by emotions. And...all of that power isn't coming from the princess."  
  
"What do you mean by that?"  
  
"There are two other magical sources somewhere else that are reacting to Princess Lady Serenity's power. There's one that cannot be located, but the other...is inside the palace, sir. The scientists picked up on her power immediately and found that something else is actually _besting_ the princess's. There is something in this palace with immense amounts of power."  
  
"What is that?"  
  
"We're working on it, your majesty."  
  
***  
  
"Usa!" Aiyana shook the younger girl hard. "Stop that!"  
  
"I can't! I'm not doing it by myself!"  
  
"What?" Aiyana released her. Usa's crescent flickered.  
  
"My mom...my mom was helping me. Her power was with me, I felt it! And...the ginzuishou."  
  
"The what?"  
  
"The Maboroshi no Ginzuishou. Didn't Daddy tell you about it? Did he tell you to protect it while you were here? If he really trusted you-"  
  
_The Maboroshi no Ginzuishou..._

_A very powerful stone..._

_In my wife's line forever..._  
  
_Key to the universe..._  
  
"Shimatta!" Aiyana's head reeled. "This is about to get a lot, lot worse."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Usa, you've got to tell me where the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou is - and quickly! We've got to-"  
  
"Wait. No. I'm not telling you anything!"  
  
"Usa, you have to. The Zeta-"  
  
"Zeta schmeta. Now that you know the ginzuishou has power, you want it. Do you think I'm going to let you find it so that you can hand it over to your allies downstairs? No!"  
  
"Usa, you _have_ to!"  
  
"I don't _have_ to do anything!"  
  
"Augh! Stubbornnes must come from your mother's side because I'm not half as stubborn as you are!" Aiyana through her hands up, turning to begin pacing the room. "The Zeta are probably _all over_ that power." She whipped around to Usa. "Usa, we've _got_ to get to the ginzuishou before they do! Now for the last time, _where is it_?"  
  
"I'm not telling you!"  
  
"_Stop playing games, you little busu_!" Aiyana screamed.  
  
"WHAT - wait a minute. Back up." Usa looked suspiciously at Aiyana, much in the way she had earlier when wondering atbout her father's trust. "What did you mean by that? About stubbornnes coming from my mother's side?"  
  
Aiyana's eyes widened, slapping her hands over her mouth as she noticed her blunder.  
  
Realization washed over Usa's face, and her eyes widened, too. She slapped one hand over her mouth, and pointed the other at Aiyana accusingly. "You don't - you can't - that's – _I don't believe you_!"  
  
"Usa, I—"  
  
Usa sank onto her bed, tears pouring down her cheeks. "_I don't believe you!_ I don't believe you. I don't believe you..."  
  
***  
  
"Your highness, we've located the source of the extra power." The First Zeta was grinning with glee. "It's located in a special holding room on the fourth floor of the palace."  
  
"So get it out! What is it?"  
  
"Whatever it is, it's immensely powerful. The Epsilon are tearing into the holding room right at this moment. Don't worry, your highness, we'll have it out in no time."  
  
A messenger ran into the throne room, sidled up to the First Zeta, and began whispering. The Zeta's smile rivaled the light of the moon.  
  
"Your highness, we've discovered it! The source of the power is a small silver crystal-"  
  
"-this small silver crystal."  
  
The empror and the rest of the room's company turned around. Flanked by two large Psi warriors and six of the twenty-two Epsilon was Prince Tamashiiro himself. He smiled and held up a small, round, silver-colored crystal, nestled between his index finger and thumb.  
  
The emperor's eyes widened. "That tiny thing?"  
  
"Don't be fooled by its size. This 'tiny thing' is immensely powerful."  
  
"Surely there's got to be something about an object this important in the annals of this place."  
  
"There most certainly is," Prince Tamashiiro said. "The Delta already researched the power of this crystal. Its powers are unlimited - the only parameters to its force are the limitations of the user." The prince chuckled. "It's even got it's own name. Made it easier to search for, at least."  
  
"And what's that?"  
  
"The Maboroshi no Ginzuishou."


	35. Lead The Way, Earthian

Chapter Thirty-Five - Lead The Way, Earthian  
  
***  
  
Aiyana was at the crux of a dilemma.  
  
On the one hand, she could run off and try to find the ginzuishou on her own. King Endymion had said something about a connection between his power and his wife's, and she was sure that if she fired off enough impulses, she would be able to discover the location of the ginzuishou. Usa was not talking to her at this point, and she wasn't sure she wanted to venture past the stone wall the girl had erected against her.  
  
On the other hand, Usa was only thirteen. She might be able to reason with her, console her, and eventually get her to lead her to where the ginzuishou was kept. It would help her out a great deal - she wouldn't have to search blindly for it. Usa might also be more cooperative for future endeavors if Aiyana strove to work with her.  
  
She took a few steps over toward the bed where Usa had thrown herself after her fit, but was stopped mid-step by an announcement made in sloppy- telekinesis - it was half-telekinetic, half-shouted. "All Omega Empire personnel from Zeta level up please report to the main throne room of the palace."  
  
Aiyana sighed, shooting a glance at Usa. "I have to go," she said.  
  
"Get out of here!" Usa sobbed, seeming to just notice that Aiyana was still in her bedroom.  
  
She nodded and acquiesced, softly closing the door behind her. As an afterthought, she created a seal around the door with some of her inherited powers - weak enough so that it wouldn't be picked up by a Zeta sensor, but strong enough so that Usa would have to have another episode with the ginzuishou to break it down. She then headed towards the throne room.  
  
The Zeta scientists in the room were chattering animatedly, discussing what they thought they would do with the newfound power in the room. The Epsilon soldiers were bored.  
  
The Delta were their silent selves, waiting for new orders and information from the Omega.  
  
The Omega were the most comfortable members of the room. The emperor was seated in the grand throne the queen frequented, the prince seated next to him in the king's throne. Aiyana strolled in the room, obviously later than everyone else, because the emperor's eyes brightened as he watched her enter. He waited until she had strolled all the way across the room, taking her place at the head of the military - front line, first in rank - before he cleared his throat and called for order.  
  
"Before I began, I'd like a report from each of the Delta. Half of you I haven't seen all day. Where have you been and what have you been doing?" He turned his eyes to Delta Khalidah. "You first, First Delta."  
  
Aiyana took a moment before she answered, moistening her lips. "Sealing the princess into her bedroom."  
  
"It took you that long?" Prince Tamashiiro interrupted.  
  
"Yes." She turned her violet stare to the prince. "She tried to start a fistfight with me."  
  
"Losing your touch, Delta Khalidah?" asked Second Delta Hojo, rather amused. The rest of the rank chuckled, lightly but maliciously.  
  
Delta Khalidah turned a glare down the rest of the line, but it cleared, and she smiled. "No. It just took me quite a while to apprehend her while trying not to hurt her. The urge was strong. As it is now." Her eyes flickered violet.  
  
Delta Hojo was taken aback. He clamped his mouth shut.  
  
Emperor Omega held in a smile as he turned his attention to the rest of the Delta, getting reports from each. The top three (below Aiyana, that is) were doing research, and the other three were practicing their judo on each other.  
  
The emperor nodded as he finished with the Seventh Delta. "Good," he said. "I don't know much you've heard, but the Zeta detected an important and powerful power source in the palace. They've divined the location and found this little gem-" Emperor Omega gestured to his son, and Tamashiiro held up the small silver crystal.  
  
Aiyana struggled not to groan out loud. ~Chikuso,~ she thought.  
  
"The Maboroshi no Ginzuishou." The name rolled much more easily off his tongue than it did from anyone else's - the Alphan tongue was definitely not made to handle the Japanese language. The Andromedan tongue was only slightly better.  
  
"This tiny gem has unlimited power - limited only through the limitations of its user. Unfortunately, we don't have much information besides that on the ginzuishou." He swept his gaze over the seven Delta, letting it rest on Aiyana longer than anyone else. She stiffened.  
  
"Has anyone found any other information about this?"  
  
Aiyana debated. Should she speak? Any information she gave might be a crucial piece that would help the Alphas. Yet it would seem weird if she had been here seven months and had not found any information about the ginzuishou.  
  
"It's an item that has been passed down in the Moon Queen's line for centuries," she said, raising her eyes to the emperor. "It's connected to the legend of the White Moon Kingdom-" Aiyana chuckled as she realized that the story King Endymion had told her earlier *was* the legend of the White Moon Kingdom. The story was true. "-but obviously, this gem is not a myth, as I believed." She shrugged. "I would have done more serious investigation on it, but the palace was inaccessible, and I didn't know it really existed in any event."  
  
"Do you realize what this means?" one of the Zeta - thirteenth, by his place in line - exclaimed excitedly. "We can run tests - make super- Alphans - do all sorts of things with this wonderful gem! The Psi's powers will be increased a hundredfold! And, if there's any other sort of magical- "  
  
"Hush," said the First Zeta. The Thirteenth Zeta fell silent.  
  
"I'll give you all three hours. During the three hours the Zeta and Delta both have tasks. Zeta, I expect you to come up with a plan of action regarding this precious gem. Second Omega Prince Tamashiiro will give the First Zeta the crystal. He alone should handle the crystal, and with utmost care.  
  
"Delta, you have three hours to find as much information - history, makeup, anything - about the Marbososhi - the masalbochi - the malabrokotchi-"  
  
"Maboroshi no Ginzuishou."  
  
"Yes," Emperor Omega said, shooting a half-affectionate look at his son. "How can you pronounce that so well?"  
  
Tamashiiro shrugged - a little too quickly for Aiyana's liking. She narrowed her eyes.  
  
"What does that mean?" the emperor asked, surveying the group before him.  
  
"Literally translated, 'silver water crystal of illusions'. The closest translation possible."  
  
The other six Delta peered at Aiyana.  
  
The emperor looked at her strangely, then smiled slyly. "Research pairs. Seventh and Sixth, Fifth and Fourth, Third and Second...and First Delta Khalidah, you will research alongside Prince Tamashiiro. Seeing as he was the Second Delta and your former partner in any case." He regarded the crew closely. "You are dismissed."  
  
The blockade broke up, striding in all different directions. Delta Khalidah walked up to Prince Tamashiiro and eyed him carefully. "Let's go."  
  
He raised an eyebrow, turned on his heel, and icily walked from the room without saying a word.  
  
Aiyana rolled her eyes. Males!  
  
***  
  
"This library is divided by subject," Aiyana explained, pointing through the vast library. One other pair of Delta had decided to come to this building. The other two were hunting through the specialized libraries on the fourth floor. "This wing has the histories of many great cultures as well as other social studies...Omega Prince Tamashiiro, are you listening?"  
  
"Not really," the prince admitted, turning his hazel stare upon Aiyana. It was so painful she had to turn away. "You were always the strong suit in research. I just did the actions."  
  
"You're going to have to help me. This library is much bigger than the one at home in Andromeda." Aiyana had to struggle to append the words 'at home' to Andromeda. ~This is my home now,~ she thought.  
  
Tamashiiro rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Lead the way, Earthian."  
  
Aiyana whipped around to face Tamashiiro. "What did you call me?" Her eyes flashed violet.  
  
Tamashiiro threw his hands up, and he actually looked frightened for a second - or at least startled. "Earthian. You've spent so much time here, I would think you were the authority on Earthian history." He chuckled. "At least I didn't call you a human."  
  
Aiyana pointed a slender finger in the prince's face, making him lean backwards from her. She leaned over his much taller form far enough so that her blue eyes bored into his hazel ones, trying hard to ignore the resemblance he bore to her daughter. It was so strong!  
  
"You know something about me, Andromedan," she snarled, spitting the last word like bitter hemlock. "I'll find out what it is before this mission is over."  
  
"You'd better get that finger out of my face, Earthian," Tamashiiro snarled back, closing his fingers around Aiyana's one and gently pushing it away - the gentleness a calculated control of power. "You may have had the upper hand for those few months, but remember, I'm the head dog now." He started to say more, but he let his eyes carry the warning.  
  
Aiyana kept hers trained on his, and surprisingly, he turned away first.  
  
~How could this monster be the father of my sweet little Mikomi-chan?~ she thought despairingly. Tamashiiro must never find out about her.  
  
"Let's go, Aiyana," he said, deliberately using her first name. It was a sign of either disrespect or closeness in the military to use a comrade's first name. Tamashiiro had no permission, so the intended was disrespect.  
  
Aiyana shrugged. Military titles meant nothing to her now. She led him to the alphabetical card catalog and flipped through until she found a selection of titles about Crystal Tokyo history. She pulled them out and shoved them in the prince's arms.  
  
"Here," she said. "Go find these volumes. Or do you not know how to use the decimal system?"  
  
Tamashiiro was taken aback by the curt order as well as the insulting question. Aiyana had never acted quite so boldly before. Her earlier outburst about his implied knowledge of her birth was out of character for the timid little mouse, and this too was an anomaly. Even when she was First Delta and he was Second, she had to feed her instructions through him to the other Delta - which usually resulted in them being altered or altogether trashed and rewritten. He'd thought that her cold quip to Second Delta Hojo was hilarious, but when her sarcasm was directed towards him, it wasn't quite so funny.  
  
"Do you?"  
  
"Don't be stupid, prince."  
  
"Don't order me around, Earthian."  
  
She ignored the last and worked with the rest of the catalog. Why oh why did the emperor pair him with his stupid insubordinate son?!  
  
Aiyana found all her volumes first and plunked them on the table. She was studying them when she felt someone's stare on her back. Turning around, she noticed Prince Tamashiiro looking nervously at her, but as soon as he caught her looking, his stare turned into a glare and he whipped back around to his work.  
  
The episode repeated itself three times before Aiyana finally slapped the pages of the book she was reading, raising herself to her full height. "Damnit, you arrogant kisama, just admit you don't know how to use the damn decimal system!"  
  
"I can use the decimal system! I found the damn books!"  
  
"What is it, then? Can't you read?"  
  
Tamashiiro opened his mouth to scream some more, but closed it as he realized protesting loudly wouldn't solve anything. "I can read."  
  
"Just not Japanese."  
  
"This book isn't written in any of the kana systems we were taught in low military.*"  
  
"Their important government documents are written in the kana. What kind of book is that?"  
  
"Non-fiction."  
  
"Yes. In enjoyment books, they use kanji. The kanji characters are based more on ideas than sounds. Phonetic systems won't work since different kanji carry different connotations and meanings." She raised an eyebrow at the prince. "Help?"  
  
He tipped his head to the side. "Help," he mumbled.  
  
Aiyana rose and strolled over to the bookcase he was standing by, peering over the case. "Where is it?" she said, "I'll read it to you."  
  
The prince stared at her. "The Aiyana Khalidah I knew would never have yelled back."  
  
She paused, staring up at the prince. His eyes - was that actually admiration in them? She shook her head, choosing not to reply.  
  
"What happened to you?"  
  
"I'd rather not say."  
  
"I'll find out."  
  
"I welcome you to try."  
  
"Here's the damn book." He stretched his lean form up to retrieve the book and flipped through it quickly. It had pictures in it, facilitating his search form information. "I always hated research. Like a kid in low military." He stopped as he arrived on one of the last pages of the book. "Look, this book must have been recently published. It has some information on the pink-haired spore." He pointed to the picture of the princess, rolling his eyes. "I wish the Zeta didn't want her so much. I desperately want to kill her."  
  
Aiyana chuckled, but the prince's admission made her stomach churn. Poor Usa. She was still in the room, perhaps still sobbing. The girl was probably scared out of her wits, not sure she had anyone on her side. She wished the girl trusted her more, so she wouldn't be so scared and alone at the time. Sisters could bond over stuff like this - even if they were only half-sisters.  
  
She shrugged it off and followed where Tamashiiro was pointing. "It says that the princess is in the dynasty to inherit the throne," she told him.  
  
"Does it say anything about the ginzuishou?"  
  
"Eto...matte. Here it says that she can control the ginzuishou. Let me read it - 'After the former Moon Queen relinquishes the throne by death or by the loss of her powers, the princess comes into full possessive power of the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou.' Hey...that implies-"  
  
"It doesn't imply anything. It flat-out tells you. Now that the queen is dead - thanks to you, Delta Khalidah - that little pink-haired spore frying her brains out is in complete, utter control of the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou." He smiled widely. "Why would they leave a mush-head like that in control of so precious a source?"  
  
"Why did they put a mush-head like you into the Second Omega's spot?"  
  
He glared at her, then broke into a thin smile. "Point taken. She's probably undergoing some kind of training. And yet, there's more."  
  
"What's more?"  
  
"Now see, you were always the researcher, but I was the military strategist." He grinned.  
  
"Right. What do you have?" Aiyana raised an eyebrow. "Prince," she added.  
  
"Well, it's quite simple, actually," he said, crossing his arms. "The Moon Line passes the throne, the power of the ginzuishou - the whole eight meters - down the dynasty to their daughters, right?"  
  
"Following you there."  
  
"I'm shocked."  
  
"They didn't give me your job for nothing."  
  
"Touché. In any event, Princess Lady Serenity is not yet married. Which means she has no daughter to pass the power to, right?"  
  
"Right..." Suddenly she was following Tamashiiro very clearly, and she did not like it one bit.  
  
"So, I get to kill the little spore after all!"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------  
  
*low military -- like high school. This is the lower military school for people grafted into the system at an early age.  
  
I hope you enjoyed. I'm already working on the next chapter.  
  
keskiivikko@yahoo.com 


	36. What A Fall

Chapter Thirty-Six - What A Fall  
  
***  
  
"So, you're telling me that if we kill the princess, the power will be without a destined controller, and it will be most powerful in anyone's grasp?"  
  
"Yes, Emperor Omega. Then any of us will be able to use it in order to - well, to do whatever."  
  
"You're sure about this."  
  
"Yes. Delta Khalidah and I just researched it moments ago. It's all very - interesting." He smiled. "Please let me do it."  
  
"No." The emperor rolled his eyes at his son and flickered them instead on Delta Khalidah. "So let me get this straight. I kill the princess. The ginzuishou goes without controller, so we can use it. The dynasty is incomplete, so we can take it over without the magic of the city working against us - it will be working so hard to protect itself it will gloss over us. We take over the city, get the scientists to work the magic into my line, bada-bing, we rule the Earth and make these miserable Earthians our servants?"  
  
Aiyana shuddered, but nodded.  
  
The emperor broke into a huge smile. "So what are we waiting for! I've been praying for a chance to shut that girl up!"  
  
"But-" Aiyana choked back a lump in her throat. "As annoying as the spore is, the ginzuishou will be more powerful with her alive. Her will - her life - the ginzuishou - I researched. The books say that the ginzuishou almost has a sympathy - indeed, a personality - of its own. If it has a sympathy and a personality, it will mourn the princess's death and thus misfire."  
  
"No. The ginzuishou's powers are unlimited." Tamashiiro smiled. "That's what all the books say. Whether she is mourned or not, it will still work its magical power."  
  
"Yes-"  
  
"Yes." Emperor Omega. "So we've got to execute the princess in order to use the ginzuishou to its fullest. Good. Get her. The sooner we do this the better."  
  
Aiyana gulped, alarmed.  
  
"Problems, First Delta?"  
  
"I'll so miss locking her in her room after a good tussle," she offered lamely. "Permission to retire, your highness?"  
  
"Permission granted. You too, Tamashiiro." He waved his hand. "Go eat or something."  
  
***  
  
~Eat? Eat? Eat?!~  
  
The emperor made a rule that the execution would be as quiet and unpretentious as possible. Lady Serenity wasn't a military prisoner, and she hadn't committed any crimes - they were executing her out of necessity - and only the six Epsilon executioners and he would know the time and place of the execution, as well as the method. The seven Delta had groaned at the decision - none of them liked the princess much and wanted to watch the execution.  
  
Aiyana had to discover the time and place of the execution. She had wanted to get to the princess before the Epsilon did, but when she went to Serenity's room, the young princess was not there. She could only pray that the Epsilon had not yet executed the princess.  
  
There had to be some way to stay it!  
  
She suspected that Prince Tamashiiro knew the statistics. So she'd hunted around until she found the prince. Aiyana smirked when she realized what he was doing - practicing reading the Japanese kanji. She had to admit, he was improving. Yesterday as they did more research he had stumbled through a kanji reading of one of the more complicated non-fiction books in the library. She watched him check his watch. Either he was trying to meet the two-hour limit set for the Delta - not likely, since he didn't have to and he hated research - or he was waiting for something.  
  
A few minutes later he checked his watch and closed the book, placing it back in its place on the bookshelf. He walked out of the library, Aiyana following close behind him, staying well enough behind him so that he wouldn't see her.  
  
He paused several times along the way, looked around, took wrong turns, and finally arrived upon the casual throne room.  
  
~I know they're not going to do it in there...!~ Aiyana thought.  
  
Finally he turned around and faced the exact place she was in. "You can come out now, Delta Khalidah," he said amusedly.  
  
Aiyana slid from her spot, chagrined.  
  
"I'd have been a really sucky Delta if I didn't know you were there."  
  
"So what does that make me?"  
  
"A really sucky Delta."  
  
"How long have I been there?" she challenged.  
  
"I realized you were following me when I got lost near the regular throne room."  
  
She smirked. At least there was a concession. He hadn't known she was there as long as she was.  
  
"Now that you've followed me, I suppose the only thing to let you do is accompany me to watch Princess Lady Serenity's execution," he said, grinning. "The emperor allowed me to view it."  
  
Aiyana turned white. "Is that where you were going?"  
  
"Stupid girl. Of course that's where I was going. You didn't think I was just going to recline?"  
  
"No. I would think you'd still be practicing your kanji."  
  
It was Prince Tamashiiro's turn to turn colors, for his face turned into a tomato at that. "That long?"  
  
"That long."  
  
"You've never much had a gumption for death, have you?" He smirked slyly. "I saw how stark white your face went when I mentioned the execution. Which is why it baffles me as to how you killed the king and queen."  
  
Aiyana shrugged. "I don't like watching death if I don't have to."  
  
"Well, it'll be good for you to witness this one." He latched onto her wrist, fully intending to drag her into the throne room. "Come on. It'll inure to the sight."  
  
"No! Let me go!"  
  
"Stop fighting, First Delta!" He yanked her harder and dragged her into the room.  
  
Damnit, she hadn't wanted to go into the throne room as the personal escort of the prince. That would only make it more difficult to rescue Lady Serenity. If she could have slunk in silently, she would have had the element of surprise - perhaps from the back or the side - but with Prince Tamashiiro making a big deal of it, she would have to stand in military rank, thus coming from the front and being much easier to apprehend.  
  
But Tamashiiro didn't release her to her rank. Instead, he kept his hand clamped around her wrist. She writhed under his hold. "Let me go," she whispered fiercely.  
  
"Delta Khalidah, this is oh so informal. You don't have to stand in rank all the time." He pushed his mouth to her ear. "Live a little. Since you abhor death so much anyway."  
  
She struggled, but he was bigger and stronger than her, and she finally decided to save her energy.  
  
Six Epsilon brought Lady Serenity to the foreground of the room, taken from the lacy pink dress she had worn earlier and instead clad in a plain pale pink dress, easier to control her in. She writhed as well, but there was only so far she could move with the six Epsilon holding her down. They brought her to the center of the room, made her kneel, affixed her head to the block below.  
  
Decapitation!  
  
Aiyana squirmed. With Tamashiiro holding her on this side and the Epsilon flanking the princess, by the time she wiggled free and made it to Serenity, the girl would be dead. The laser axe they were using would quickly sever bone, muscle, tissue. There was no way she would physically save her.  
  
The Psi soldier raised the laser axe above his head, as Lady Serenity screamed.  
  
There was only one way...  
  
"Stop!" Aiyana screamed, waving her free hand. "Stop! Don't kill her!"  
  
The Psi paused mid-swing, looking at Aiyana quizzically. He then turned towards the emperor. The emperor waved him off. The Psi relaxed his axe.  
  
Prince Tamashiiro rolled Aiyana around to face him and cocked his head to the side. "And why not?"  
  
Aiyana stared back at him. "Killing her won't accomplish anything."  
  
"How is that?"  
  
"Because..." Aiyana swallowed, stiffened, gathered up all her courage. "She's not the crown princess of Crystal Tokyo. I am."  
  
A collective gasp came from the room, but Tamashiiro's expression didn't change. He only smirked more widely. He looked up at the emperor, who nodded slowly.  
  
Aiyana suddenly had a sinking feeling in her stomach.  
  
"You...knew."  
  
Tamashiiro shrugged. "I didn't know that you were the princess. That is as much a surprise to me as it was to anyone. But I suspected that you weren't loyal to the crown after you didn't report for seven months, even if your ship was crashed, which it wasn't. When we arrived here and you jumped out the window to save the princess, I suspected then. But my father wouldn't believe me.  
  
"So I arranged this little affair to catch you in it. It was so much fun! I knew that your big ol' heart would give you away at the moment of truth." He smiled. "You were always so weak when it came to death."  
  
Aiyana's mouth dropped open.  
  
"I deliberately went to the library - don't you think that'd be kind of an obvious place for me to hang out before the execution? And why do you think none of the other eager beaver Delta followed me from there? Hm, you're losing your touch, Aiyana." He shook his head, clicking his teeth in a tsk tsk sound. "Coincidence that you found me right before the execution, isn't it, Aiyana? There was no set time for this little affair. I decided to hang around until you found me."  
  
Aiyana hung her head in shame.  
  
"When you did, I checked my watch to make it look like it was a set time. After a few moments of making you wait, knowing you'd follow me out of there, I left.  
  
"Getting lost wasn't a part of the plan," he admitted, faltering, "but it was a good way for me to pretend like I hadn't known you were behind me for the whole time. Then I figured, I'd better hold that crazy girl down before she rushed forward to sacrifice herself for that girl. Which would have been stupid, since we would have killed Serenity anyway, but-" He shrugged casually.  
  
"I was going to suggest killing you both when we found out the truth. But this admission - you're the princess? It's absurd. I halfway don't believe you, but if that weren't the truth, I think you would have come up with something better than that. You're smarter than that. So it must be true.  
  
"But to make doubly sure, I suggest that we run some tests to prove your relation to the throne." He regarded Aiyana carefully. "How did you like my little story, Aiyana?"  
  
She turned her eyes away, casting them towards the floor. How could she have been so stupid?  
  
"I told my father and the other Delta of my suspicions early on. They've been watching your every move since that day. We'd just about confirmed you were a traitor. We just needed something concrete from you." He grinned. "And we've got it!"  
  
He shoved her brutally, one of the Epsilon catching her from the back. Aiyana was so shocked that she didn't even struggle away from the Epsilon soldier, and it only took two to hold her.  
  
"Take her upstairs and put her in the second-biggest bedroom of the palace - the queen's personal chamber. Oh," he added, snapping his fingers at the Epsilon holding her, "get former First Delta Khalidah out of that uniform and strip her of that insignia."  
  
He sucked his teeth. "What a fall, what a fall, Aiyana! From First Delta to First Sigma in no time at all!"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------  
  
AN: If you'll remember correctly, Sigma are prisoners of war.  
  
Sorry for the shorter chapter, but I had to stop there for effect. 


	37. What Does He Look Like?

Chapter Thirty-Seven - What Does He Look Like?  
  
***  
  
Aiyana shivered as she felt the shadow of the prince fall over her. Tamashiiro was studying her carefully; she felt his eyes on her, but refused to turn and meet her gaze.  
  
Finally, he sighed, rather angrily. "Look at me."  
  
Aiyana ignored him.  
  
He circled the bed she was seated on - Tamashiiro had entered the lavender room she had claimed. He had ruled to allow her to stay there, but only because it was in the midst of the other Detlta's rooms. Any escape attempts would have been futile.  
  
Tamashiiro came to a stop in front of her now, eyes trained on her. It was the first time he had seen her in a real dress; the most feminine thing he had seen her in was the skirt and sweater she was wearing when the company had come to Earth. Now she was clothed in a powder blue dressing gown she had found among Hotaru's things - which, not surprisingly, had fit her in size but not in height. The hem skirted her shins.  
  
"The Zeta are working right now. They are augmenting the Psi's power at this very moment with that delightful little crystal we've discovered. They experimented with one first; it's extremely powerful now. None of this world's warriors will be able to hold up against them.  
  
"They're going to do us next." He bent down to study her face. "Although I doubt that you'll benefit from that."  
  
Aiyana tilted her head slightly to break his eye contact; she didn't want to acknowlege his presence, but she couldn't stand the gloating look on his face.  
  
"We're also going to explore the limits of your power. As the heir - no, ruler now, with the death of the king and queen - of this planet...well. You own an extremely beautiful planet. And soon, we will own it." He chuckled. "My father has agreed to let me have this planet for myself...as a little experiment in ruling before I become emperor. Of course, he's changed his opinion about you. He still believes you're the amazing fighter you always were. Just that he's not pressuring me to court you anymore."  
  
"I'd never have married you," she spat back.  
  
"I don't know," he said doubtfully. "Timid Aiyana, pre-Earth, would have married me at the emperor's lightest wish. Post-Earth Aiyana hates my guts." He grinned. "But you've never really been pre-Earth, have you?"  
  
"You know more about me than I know about myself."  
  
"I definitely do." He smiled, complacent, and seated himself opposite Aiyana. "It irritated me that my charge had risen higher in the ranks than me - that she was getting more recognition than me - not only was she a female, she was an Earthian, someone I was charged with looking after."  
  
"Your charge?"  
  
He nodded solemnly. "You were a test experiment. The Zeta had become interested with aliens as of late, especially humans. But so far, they'd only been experienced with older humans. They wanted fresh young ones - they had less complications and were easier to mold, I suppose you could say." His eyes darkened considerably. "Besides, some of the scientists were taking particularly well to the female test subjects. There wouldn't be those...accidents...if they had younger subjects."  
  
Something was off in his tone, but he was pushing on with his story and she didn't want to miss it. Aiyana stored his facial expression and tone of voice in the back of her mind for further replay.  
  
"So, about five Earth years ago, they planned an expedition to Earth, researching the nationality closest to the Andromedan culture. It was difficult. The Asian, especially Japanese, appeared closer to the Andromedans than any other race. But the immuno-structure was closest to that of Africans, while the physical, skeletal build of Andromedans was closest to that of eastern Europeans. It was a tough break.  
  
"However, the scientists were roaming and deciding when they were attracted by a burst of power in one of the test sections - western Europe. It was at a middle school that had just opened. There were several students with very faint traces of supernatural power, and they took them all, but there was one that they considered a boon." He stared at her, his look almost a hard glare. Another emotion was present - anger.  
  
She stored that away too.  
  
"I was kidnapped from the planet when I was twelve?"  
  
"Basically. The Zeta just wanted to run tests on you and the other test subjects. Brilliant. But an ex-military member had the most brilliant idea of all - why not run some of the young humans through the military school? Erase their memories, make them think they were Andromedans, and put them through the military ranks. Watch their progress in all areas. That way, they'd know which bodily systems were strongest in you, and they'd know which parts of your DNA to blend with the other members of the system." He stopped for a moment, crinkled his brow. "There's tons of it, copies and copies."  
  
"Of what?"  
  
"Your DNA. Your age was frozen for a few months, and they copied your DNA many times over. Since then, who knows how many people it's been integrated with? Three of the Psi they're engineering now have it in them. It's disturbing because very small parts that no one else would notice resemble you closely."  
  
Aiyana shivered, wrapping her arms around her.  
  
"After they unfroze you, they decided you would be their special test. They'd put you out there. And they chose me to be your guardian, to watch your progress, even though I wasn't even in the same caste." Tamashiiro shook his head. "Fate works in strange ways, doesn't it, Sigma Khalidah?"  
  
Aiyana sighed.  
  
"In any case, that's how you became a member of the system, and rose through the ranks so quickly. Your prowess was amazing, yes, because you were human." He hesitated before saying the last word, Aiyana noticed - she was now analyzing his behavior to the fullest. "But the higher-ups really wanted to see how you would act in each caste of the military, what jobs suited humans the most.  
  
"Your mission to Earth with me was a mistake. You were my partner, so the military scheduled you to go. The science division protested, but it was too late, and you had to come with me."  
  
"Is that why you were angry? Because I wasn't supposed to come?"  
  
Tamashiiro frowned. "No."  
  
"So why did you hate me? You hated me before I hated you, you remember." She lowered her eyes, turned them towards the bed. "I never hated you before. I almost thought you could...help me. Until..." She shifted uncomfortably in her place. This wasn't the time to discuss old news. He was supposed to be interrogating her.  
  
Besides, revealing her feelings - no matter how old or how stupid they were - would be dangerous. Tamashiiro was no longer her partner. He was her enemy.  
  
"Well, if you'd worked as hard as I did to get to the top, wouldn't you be angry if some little girl from another planet claimed your position when you'd just gotten it?"  
  
"You started to hate me even before that."  
  
Tamashiiro didn't respond to that, just turned his eyes towards the window in Hotaru's room.  
  
"Did you really kill the king and queen?" he asked. His voice was more curious than interrogative.  
  
Aiyana didn't answer.  
  
"I didn't think you could do it...I still don't think you could do it. And one other thing - if you're the princess, what were you doing in western Europe?"  
  
She turned her eyes back to Tamashiiro and tried to think of a way to answer. "I wish I could tell you that myself," she said, keeping her voice steady. "I don't remember any of that. Remember, my memories were erased, and a past was fabricated for me. I remember an Andromedan mother and father. An Andromedan brother."  
  
"He was based upon me. To make you more comfortable in my wake." Tamashiiro shifted position and finally stood, made uncomfortable by the spill of feelings that had suddenly developed.  
  
Suddenly he turned back to Aiyana, his hazel eyes hard and cold - if cold could be a word to approproately describe the warm green-brown depths. "On the way here, I experienced a medical condition. Ilytheoisis." He raised an eyebrow. "It's a medical disorder that's caused by somatic...irregularities, I suppose you could say...related to impending fatherhood."  
  
Aiyana couldn't help her reaction - although her eyes remained steely and her lips pressed in the thin line they had been in since Tamashiiro had entered the room, she couldn't help it when her face turned white.  
  
"Was there..." Tamashiiro shifted, uncomfortable with the realization that there was no delicate way to go about asking this question. "Did you...have a child..."  
  
Aiyana turned her eyes to the bedspread and contemplated how she would answer, but realized that her silence was answer enough for the young prince. He turned his eyes away from her, looking out of the window once more.  
  
His next question was the most startling at all.  
  
"What does he look like?"  
  
Aiyana recoiled as if she'd been slapped in the face. She never expected the prince to show any kind of concern for this child of his. "She," she corrected, out of habit, and the prince grunted softly - somewhere between a chuckle and a groan. "Why do you ask?" she said guardedly.  
  
"I don't know myself," he admitted. "I suppose I know how it feels to have your parents abandon you..." 


	38. Next In Line

**Chapter Thirty-Eight - Next In Line**

"All right, Usa," Aiyana said, aiming a stare straight at the younger princess.  "I need to talk to our father."

Usa looked up from her bed towards Aiyana with a haunted look, eyes hollow and red from crying.  "What?" she asked softly.

Aiyana exhaled.  Usa's voice held no malice toward her – it hold nothing besides dejection.  "I need to speak with King Endymion," she said, more quietly.  "It's very important.  I need for him to know what's going on here, and more importantly, I need to know where he's staying."

Usa unfolded from her half-fetal position and turned to face Aiyana more fully.  But she said nothing, only gave the older girl a blank stare.

"Please, Usa," Aiyana pleaded gently, bending to kneel by the younger girl's bed in order to be closer to her.  "I need this.  If we don't find a way to get some help soon, or stop the Omega, they're going to kill us all and ruin this planet.  I don't know what they're planning on doing, but the Zeta have got the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou and they're going to—"

"Wait."  Usa held up a hand to stop Aiyana's flow of words.  "I know what's going on.  Sort of.  That's not why I was quiet.  I was thinking."

Aiyana clamped her mouth shut.

"It's not that I don't trust you again..."  Usa shook her head.  "You saved my life in the throne room!  You risked your own life!  If they hadn't thought you were useful, they would've killed you.  I suppose you could almost say it was a stroke of luck that you were the king's daughter...my half-sister...otherwise we might both be dead by now."  She shrugged.  "I still don't know why they didn't just kill me.  They don't have any use for me!"

"They probably want to validate my claim and take blood samples, or keep you in case some of your magic or knowledge proves useful to them," Aiyana replied helpfully.

"Whatever," Usa answered.  "They should've just killed me."  
"Don't say that!"  Aiyana jumped up and quieted her tone in case any of the Psi or Epsilon were wandering around on their rounds.  It was late and most of the palace was asleep, and the guard at Usa's door had been relaxed in favor of the inexperienced Thirty-Eighth Epsilon and a strong magical barrier around the door.

Aiyana's room, on the other hand, had been guarded by the Fourth and Fifth Epsilon with sophisticated weapons and a strong magical barrier.  The barrier had been difficult to break without alerting the Epsilon's attention, especially since the Zeta had been intelligent and developed one that countered Aiyana's powers.  Overcoming the Epsilon and taking one of their weapons had been easy in comparison, especially since Aiyana hadn't exactly taken the time to develop her powers.

Usa smiled a little at Aiyana's apprehension.

"They're most likely at one of the Senshi's homes," she answered.  "I don't know which one they'd go to."

"I think...Endymion told me to get you to the Kogusunasus' home afterward...where is the Kogusunasus'?"

Usa opened her mouth to answer when her attention was attracted by something else.  "You said you wanted to communicate with my dad," she said.  "Why don't you just use that?"

Aiyana glanced at where Usa was pointing.  Raising her arm, she realized the younger girl was indicated the purple watch strapped onto her wrist.  "This?"

"Yes," she said.  "It's—" Usa halted.  It was—"

"What?"

"It was Hotaru Tomoe, Sailor Saturn's."

Aiyana looked back down at the watch while Usa's eyes widened over her.

"Is...is Hotaru Tomoe your mother?"

Aiyana looked back up at Usa.  "Why do you ask?"

"My father or mother had to have told you where to find those things.  They keep all disappeared Senshi's items, although none of the Senshi have ever disappeared for them to keep it, except for Sailor Pluto at various times.  Anyway, the only reason they would've given it to you is if – if you were next in line."

Suddenly the girl took on a troubled look.  "Is Hotaru – is she – all right?"

Aiyana sighed.  "You knew her?"

"Yes!  She was my best friend!"

Aiyana raised an eyebrow.

"Really," she continued.  "Hotaru...because of her power, her age changed often.  But when I first met her – a thousand years in the past – she was around my age, maybe a little older.  She didn't have many friends at the time – as a matter of fact, she didn't have any.  I was her first.  And she was my first real friend – around my age, I mean.  The Sailor Senshi were my friends, but I need a playmate around my age.  And that was Sailor Saturn, Hotaru.

"We didn't know she was Sailor Saturn in the beginning, but then she started acquiring strange powers.  And everyone feared her.  She was the one with the power to end the world!  Neptune and Uranus were trying to destroy her for a while!"

Aiyana frowned, confused.  She remembered the force of Haruka and Michiru's feelings towards Hotaru.  Why would they try to kill her?

"I thought Kaioh-san and Tenoh-san were Hotaru's caretakers."

"Oh, they were.  After they realized that Sailor Saturn – the Sovereign of Silence, they called her, the anti-Messiah – after they realized that she was on our side, they took care of her.  An ancient force tried to destroy the world and weakened all of the Senshi, including Sailor Moon.  The only one strong enough to stop it at the time was Sailor Saturn – she jumped into the force, fighting it from within.  Sailor Moon summoned her strength and went into it too, and the two fought together.  Sailor Saturn's power destroyed it and Sailor Moon's power brought her back to life."

Death and rebirth, Aiyana thought.

"Anyway, after that, Saturn was reborn as a baby.  She had to age quickly again for another battle, but that's another story.  But when she was around my age, she was my best friend.  After that last battle, she stayed her same age, becoming my friend again.  But then she aged – very quickly!  She grew to be between my mother and the Outers' ages.  And she was very strong.  That was right before the Cold Sleep – or something.  I don't know much about those fights..."

Usa fell silent.

"She's dead, isn't she?"

Aiyana looked down, then swallowed.  "Yes," she answered.  "She...passed her powers to me.  Then died.  That's why your father gave me her things."

"Oh."  Usa stayed silent for a moment.  "But you have her things...and her spirit within you."  She brightened.  "That's what she said...wait!"

Usa jumped up.  "The old prophecy.  It said...the Sailor Senshi would never die, would live forever, would never pass on their power.  Why...how did she die?  And how did you get the power?"

Aiyana sighed.  "It all changed when your mom reversed the curse on the Senshi.  Now that they can produce offspring, their power will pass to them."

Usa's mouth took the shape of a small O.

"That's why I need to go speak to the Senshi – any one of them, all of them if possible.  Usa, what were you going to tell me about this watch?"

The younger princess slowly came back to Earth, her eyes refocusing on the band around Aiyana's arm.  "It's not a watch...it's a wrist communicator."

Aiyana's mouth dropped open.  "_What?!_"

"Yes!  And my mother takes _her_ communicator everywhere.  So she probably has it!  That's a good way for you to reconnect with Dad."

"How does it work?  Quickly now!"

Usa crouched by Aiyana's side and flipped open the top of the wrist communicator.  "See?  These buttons all produce a direct connection to any one of the Senshi's communicators.  The blue is for Mercury, the green for Jupiter, the aqua for Neptune and so on."  She smiled.  "This pink button, this is for my mother's communicator.  Press it and –"  She pressed it, and the communicator emitted a fuzzy noise.  "—voila!  Instant connection."

***

Serenity reached into the side pocket of her slacks.  There was a strange buzzing there, and she wondered – 

"My communicator?"  She studied the small instrument, puzzled.  The purple button was blinking.

"Saturn!"  Quickly, she punched the button, then called for her husband.  "Mamoru!  Come here!  Aiyana's trying to contact us!"

The king came running, along with almost everyone else in the house.  Sanetoki and Minako headed the crew, with Izumi close behind.  Poor Sadayoshi was hobbling on his crutches with the support of Masaya, who was also holding a fussy Mikomi.  Hitomi brought up the rear, more curious about what was causing the hubbub of the house than knowledgeable about the circumstances, and twelve-year-old Tenrei Kogusunasu trailed her.

"Oh," the king breathed.  "Are they all right?  Where are they?  On their way?  Did the aliens harm them?"

"I don't know," Serenity responded. "I didn't even get a picture yet...ah!  Here!"  In the small circular display appeared two faces.

"Aiyana!" Masaya cried.

"Masaya," Aiyana said, smiling brightly.  It felt like a long time since she had seen Masaya.

"Are you two all right?" the king shouted.

"Relatively," Aiyana answered.

"We're fine, Daddy!" Usa piped at the same time.

"Good," the king said, relieved.

"Where are you girls?" Serenity asked.

"Still in the palace, in my room," Usa answered.

"Unfortunately, the palace guard block a direct route out," Aiyana answered.  "I was contacting you for the very reason.  I need to know exactly where you are staying."

"We're at my house," Sanetoki offered.  The four other adults had crowded around Serenity and Mamoru in an effort to get more information about the situation.  "Rei Kogusunasu's.  You know where that is?"

"No, but I'm sure Usa does."

"Of course I do."

"Why do you need to know where we are if you can't get out?" Minako asked suspiciously.

"Because I might be able to _find_ a way out," Aiyana answered irritably.  "I really don't need an interrogation right now.  I just need explicit directions."

"She's all right, Aunt Minako," Usa intervened.  "She saved my life – twice!"

When Endymion and Serenity gasped, Aiyana quickly reassured them once again that both girls were quite all right, shooting a dirty look at Usa.

"Look, Usa can give you explicit directions to the Kogusunasu's.  What do you plan on doing once you get here?"

"I need to talk...to the queen.  And the Sailor Senshi.  Are they all over there, too?"

"Just the queen and Sailor Venus – Minako," King Endymion answered.  "Rei is still in the hospital – she was banged up rather violently on a battle between our ships and the Omega's.  And Ami and Mako were evacuating areas close to the palace, although I'm pretty sure they're probably finished and at Ami's home.  We could get them over here."  
"Safely?"

"Yes."

"Maybe you should do that," said Aiyana.  "Because what...never mind."

"What do you have to tell us, Aiyana?" Serenity asked fearfully.

"I'll tell you everything you need to know when I get there," Aiyana said.  "Everything.  But it's very important that I discuss something with you!"

"All right," King Endymion said.  "We'll contact the other two Senshi; you just hurry along and get yourself here.  Please be safe, girls."

"Daddy, I'm not coming."

"What?"  Aiyana sounded just as surprised as the adults at the other end of the connection.

"I'm much smaller and slower than Aiyana, and I don't fight as well.  I'd only slow her down – she has to make it on foot, through woods and stuff!  Plus, if we were to get caught, she'd have to defend herself _and_ me.  This way she only has to defend herself, and she could run off and make decisions without having to worry about my safety."  Usa smiled.  "I already got her in trouble several times before because of what I did.  Now she only has to worry about herself."

Serenity smiled.  "Good judgment call, Chibiusa-chan," she said softly.

"All right," said Aiyana, turning to Usa.  "You'll stay here, then, and I'll make my way to the Kogusunasus' on your direction."  
"Usa, listen," Serenity said, pressing closer to the communicator.  "It's very important that you follow Aiyana's directions.  Do everything she tells you to do, no balking!  And when she's gone, the aliens are your commanders.  If they tell you to do something, obey them!  Don't be defiant!"

"Actually," said Aiyana, smiling a bit, "it may be in Usa's interests to maintain her natural level of defiance.  It will seem strange if she switches from hotheaded to deferential, and it may result in me being detected earlier than necessary – although I doubt that I'll be gone long before they discover I've disappeared."

--------------------------

Sorry for the delay!  First I had a horrible case of writer's block, then I got punished from the computer (@.@ parents), and then I went on vacation.  Not a good combination.  Hopefully I'm back on the ball!  Thanks for your patience, and hopefully the next chapter will be better than this one.  I didn't particularly like it, and I may edit it later, but I needed something to get myself moving again.


	39. She's Mine

Chapter Thirty-Nine – She's Mine 

When the solitary guardian reached up to brush the hair out of her eyes, a pair of intruders was revealed.

She narrowed her maroon eyes menacingly.

"Halt," she said, voice low but menacing. "Who's there?"

"It is us, Setsuna."

Sailorpluto relaxed her guard, the arm grasping her Time Staff slackening. Her eyes softened. "What are you two doing here?"

Sailoruranus came into view first, fully suited and wielding the Space Sword. "There is something we need to talk about."

"I felt a stir in the continuum," Sailorpluto conceded. "Is everything all right?"

"Look for yourself," Sailorneptune said, holding up her Aqua Mirror.

Pluto stepped closer and looked, horror spreading over her face.

* * *

Tamashiiro watched with a smirk as Aiyana crawled through a brier patch, cursing the prickly growth in a low voice. _How intriguing she looks when she's annoyed_.

Well, she was ridiculous. Did she honestly think she could escape the palace without being detected? No, she was smarter than that; and Tamashiiro _did_ have to give her credit for her evasion tactics. She had hid in the palace's deep freezer for twenty minutes before she left to make her body temperature drop and jumped from a fourth floor window, nearly breaking a leg. She _had_ been almost out of range before the infrared sensors identified her as a very cold human instead of some kind of lesser animal. She seemed to be warming up a bit now; she was moving a lot faster than she had been ten minutes ago.

Tamashiiro had been on the alert when she'd been detected, but he stopped the Psi from hunting her down and bringing her back. He was interested in where she might be going. She'd left the girl, and he thought that peculiar since she'd risked her life to save the princess, so she obviously was planning on coming back. Where was she going? To get help?

But who could help her? Being the new queen of the Earth, she'd have to be the most powerful human being on the planet right now.

Unless she _had_ been lying when she said she had disposed of the monarchs...

Tamashiiro slowed. Aiyana had come to a clearing, and she cocked her head to the side. The road was not far away; the prince could hear cars whooshing down the freeway. They were in a fairly residential area, and she had obviously come close to her destination.

The prince smirked. So, there were definitely other people involved. Who?

Aiyana stood, turned and looked around. She paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes and swinging them right in Tamashiiro's direction.

For a moment Tamashiiro was afraid, and his heart pumped faster. Then the prince's scared expression softened into another smug smirk.

She wasn't sure.

She _knew_ he was there; she was _almost_ sure of it. _Almost_. But she was pressed for time, torn between getting the help she craved and searching for Tamashiiro.

She took a deep breath. "I know you're there, you bastard," she said quietly, threateningly, taking on a fighting stance. "Why not come out and fight me?"

Tamashiiro almost burst out laughing on the spot, and he had to clap his hands over his mouth to stifle his laughter. The weakened female? After twenty minutes in a deep freezer and a half-hour cross-country trek? And as nervous as she was?

She narrowed her eyes, and Tamashiiro buckled up quickly. Aiyana's hearing was sharp, and he didn't want her to know he was there just yet. He was enjoying the cat-and-mouse game, the look of nervousness in her eyes.

"I could beat you," she whispered. "I'll prove it to you some day."

She paused for several more moments, eyes darting back and forth. Then the wind blew; she shivered, remembering where she was. Not totally convinced she was alone, but not totally convinced she wasn't, she slunk in the direction of the lights, the houses, the warmth.

Tamashiiro held back for a few moments, then scuttled forward to peer around the side of a house.

She was walking down the street as if it were the light of day, as if she owned a house here. Tamashiiro followed her from behind the houses. Suddenly she stopped, looked down at her palm, looked up at a house, and walked towards it. Tamashiiro sped towards it, pulling himself in a half-standing position and running to the back of the house. There were plenty of trees flanking the house, and he could easily hide in one.

But he wanted to get up there before Aiyana got into the house. He had to hear this conversation from the beginning.

The prince took a flying leap towards a large oak tree with lush foliage and shimmied up the trunk of tree into the tangle of branches above. He was almost completely hidden in the green. Reaching into the pack he'd had strapped to his waist, Tamashiiro brought out a small digital screen with a wire attachment. He slipped some earphones over his ears; then unwrapped the wire, swung it above his head, and threw it against the side of the house.

It stuck.

With fingers the speed of a hummingbird's wing, Tamashiiro dialed a few buttons and smiled happily. The viewscreen showed a plain view of the living room of the household – all it's rooms and spaces.

And how full the house was. Upstairs, there were two little boys running around chasing each other in one room. Another room showed an attractive young dark-haired girl holding a smaller girl who looked much like herself; she seemed to be conversing with a blond-haired girl about her age.

But it was the downstairs that intrigued Tamashiiro. He pressed the large gathering room with the most people in it to get a better view.

Sitting in an overstuffed chair was an older white-haired man; there was a pair of crutches propped up near him. A blond-haired woman who looked about the same age was poring over him – an action that seemed to both exasperate and please the man. On the couch was a slightly younger man with strawberry blond hair; his face was buried in his hands. Seated on the loveseat was a handsome pair – a dark-haired man and the youngest woman in the room, possessed of glossy blond hair done in the weirdest hairstyle Tamashiiro had ever seen in his life. It was so familiar...

Tamashiiro's eyes brightened, and he smiled. Yes...that was a style similar to the little moon princess's. This was undoubtedly the Moon Queen...the little weasel _had_ been bluffing. Damn, but her lying had improved.

But the Moon Queen wasn't even the most interesting member of the household. Who interested Tamashiiro was the man seated on the floor. He looked older than Tamashiiro himself, although certainly younger than the other's in the room. This young man had white-blond hair and tanned skin, and his face was bent down, peering at a bundle cradled in his hands.

Tamashiiro had an odd feeling about that bundle. It exerted some kind of power, some force on him.

He'd seen it before...

There was a sharp rap at the door. Every person in the living room jumped, then they all exchanged glances.

Chaos ensued.

* * *

Masaya sprang to his feet and ran towards the door, almost toppling Mikomi. He skidded to a stop when King Endymion stood in front of him, arms spread.

"Whoa, there," he said, smiling warmly at Masaya. "I know you're excited. But go back in the living room. You never know who's out there."

Endymion peered around Masaya to look at the rest of the living room's inhabitants – Serenity, Minako, Sadayoshi, and Sanetoki – who had all bounded to their feet and were ready to head to the door. "That goes for all of you, too. Be patient; she'll get in the door if that's her."

Everyone sank back into their respective positions.

Endymion strode to the door and peered through the peephole. Smiling, he unlocked the door and opened it, reached out, grabbed the first thing he could – an arm – and pulled the figure at the door in. He closed the door behind him, carefully bolting it.

Then he stood, studying his daughter.

"Finally," he sighed, falling into an embrace. Aiyana hugged him back.

Silently, the king pulled back and led her into the living room.

A commotion followed, but the king quieted it with a raising of his arms. Masaya, however, not being able to contain himself, flew into Aiyana's arms, sobbing quietly and squeezing Mikomi, who started shrieking.

"Are you all right? Are you really all right?"

"Yes, Masaya," Aiyana said, her eyes sparkling with happy tears. "I'm quite all right...you're going to hurt Mikomi..."

Serenity stepped forward and took Mikomi, and Masaya turned his squeezing towards Aiyana.

* * *

A black-suited woman stepped forward and took the squalling infant.

The man in the white lab coat turned toward the frail woman standing before him in a white hospital gown.

The black-suited men ripped him away violently.

They took hold of her, the frail woman in the white gown.

_No_...

* * *

Tamashiiro blinked.

He stared at the bundle.

* * *

"Let me go, Masaya...I have something important to tell you...Masaya, I can't breathe."

Masaya relented.

"All right, sorry, sorry. I'm sorry."

* * *

_I'm sorry, I'm sorry..._

_

* * *

_

Tamashiiro shook his head. "Why now?!"

* * *

Aiyana turned and smiled at Serenity. "Thank you, Queen Serenity," she said. "May I see my daughter now?"

"Of course," Serenity said, handing Aiyana her daughter. "How silly of you to ask me that. She's all yours..."

"She's been considerably quieter since you left," Masaya said. "She broods...either that, or she's silent in sadness."

"She responds well to Masaya," Serenity added.

"Well...she eats well from me," he said, laughing softly. "But she won't let anyone else near her. Not even to feed."

Aiyana just smiled down at her daughter, bringing a finger up to her face. Mikomi reached up and snatched the finger out of the air, waving it around, which made Aiyana laugh charmingly.

Tamashiiro's eyes burned.

"All mine..." She chuckled a little, smiling brighter. "She's definitely all mine...

_No..._

_She's mine..._

"She's mine, too," Tamashiiro whispered, eyes lacerating Dr. Koikokoro's back.

Masaya sidled up to Aiyana. "And you're all _mine_." He smiled and turned her body, bringing her lips towards his.

_No! She's mine!_

"No! She's mine!"

He punched the panic button.

Tamashiiro sprung out of the tree and zipped around the front of the house, blasting through the front door.


End file.
